13 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/greatexpounderyofros 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


10003058423 


OLD   ROUGH   AND    READY   SERIES. 


1.  OLD  ROUGH  AND  READY. 

YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  GEN.  ZACHARY  TAYLOR. 

2.  OLD  HICKORY. 

YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  GEN.  ANDREW  JACKSON. 

3.  THE  MILL  BOY  OF  THE  SLASHES. 
YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  HENRY  CLAY. 

4.  THE  GREAT  EXPOUNDER. 

YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

5.  THE  SWAMP  FOX. 

YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  GEN.  FRANCIS  MARION. 

6.  THE  LITTLE   CORPORAL. 

YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE  OF  NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE. 


LEE   AND   SHEPARD,    Publishers, 

BOSTON. 


Webster  on  His  Fa  km. 


OLD   ROUGH  AND   READY  SERIES 


THE  GREAT  EXPOUNDER 


YOUNG  FOLKS'  LIFE 


DANIEL   WEBSTER 


By   JOHN   FROST 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 

LEE    AND    SHEPARD    PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    T.    DILLINGHAM 

1887 


Copyright,  1887, 
Bv   LEE   AND   SHEPARD. 


All  rights  reserved. 


Old  Rough  and  Ready  Series. 


PREFACE. 


This  Life  of  Daniel  Webster  is  written  for  the 
young ;  and  for  that  reason,  as  is  elsewhere  said, 
the  events  of  his  boyhood  and  college-days  are 
dwelt  upon  with  more  minuteness  than  those  of 
his  after  life. 

For  a  man  occupying  the  high  place  which  he 
held  in  the  eye  of  the  nation,  his  private  charac- 
ter was  little  known.  He  had  not  the  winning 
address  which  draws  the  great  multitude.  People 
did  not  call  him  by  the  familiar  terms  with  which 
popular  idols  are  designated.  He  was  not  covet- 
ous of  parade  and  personal  attentions.  He  never 
courted  the  fashion,  or  appealed  to  the  prejudice, 

of  the  hour.     He  never  threw  himself  upon  the 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

wave  of  popular  feeling,  to  be  borne  on  to  distinc- 
tion,    lie  was  not  calculated  to  win 

u  Golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people." 

He  was  ambitious.  But  his  was  not  that 
ambition  which  desires  to  make  an  impression, 
and  thus  obtain  preferment  and  honor.  It  was 
that  proud  ambition  which  knew  his  own  strength, 
and  waited  for  the  world  to  recognize  it.  The 
greatest  "special  pleader"  of  his  day,  he  was  no 
"  special  pleader"  for  himself;  for  he  felt  his  own 
superiority,  and  his  own  integrity  of  motive.  He 
could  take  care  of  his  own  honor;  and  disdained 
to  explain,  to  excuse,  or  to  apologize,  even  when 
his  friends  and  constituents  saw  things  from  a 
different  point  of  view  than  that  on  which  he 
stood. 

He  waited  for  the  hour  when  his  own  country- 
men should  do  him  justice.  The  hour  has  come; 
but  now  — 

u  Him  nor  carketh  care  nor  slander, 
Nothing  but  the  small  cold  worm 
Fretteth  his  enshrouded  form." 


PREFACE.  V 

The  voice  of  eulogy  falls  unheeded  on  "  the  dull 
cold  ear  of  death." 

It  is  due  to  ourselves  that,  as  a  nation,  we 
should  know  the  man  who,  more  than  any  of  his 
contemporaries,  raised  this  people  in  the  esteem 
of  the  world.  It  is  propei  that  our  young  men 
should  know  him.  If  they  would  learn  the 
history  of  their  land,  they  must  read  his  life,  and 
study  his  writings.  This  little  volume  is  intended 
to  place  him  before  them  in  those  aspects  of  his 
life  and  character  which,  in  works  of  higher  merit, 
may  be  overlooked. 

Free  use  is  made  of  the  many  biographical,  and 
other  notices,  which  have  already  been  published ; 
and  to  the  respective  authors  we  here  make  our 
acknowledgments. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Opening  Remarks  —  The  "Webster  Family — Birth  of  Daniel — Hia 
Parents,  Brothers  and  Sisters  —  His  Early  Years  —  Remarks  of 
Mr.  Hillard  —  Mr.  Webster's  Reference  to  his  Birthplace  — 
Daniel  Webster's  first  Teachers — Mr.  Thomas  Chase — Mr.  James 
Tappan — Letters  of  Mr.  Webster  to  Mr.  Tappan — The  old  School- 
master's Recollections  of  his  Pupils  —  Mr.  Webster's  generous 
Presents  to  his  old  Instructor  —  Mr.  William  Hoyt  —  Daniel 
Webster's  first  Copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  — 
Long  Walks  to  School  —  Daniel  Webster's  Father  a  natural 
Elocutionist  —  The  Son  taught  by  the  Father  —  Little  Dan's 
Reading — Anecdote   Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Daniel  Webster's  Habits  as  a  Boy  —  His  Employments  and  In- 
dustry—  The  Saw-mill  —  Reading  while  the  Saw  moved  —  The 
Bible,  Shakspeare,  and  Pope's  Essay  on  Man — Watt's  Hymns — ■ 
Too  much  Light — The  Social  Library — Chevy  Chase — Webster  8 
manner  of  Reading — Anecdotes  of  his  Boyhood  —  Daniel  as  an 
Office  Boy — Latin  Grammar — His  first  intimation  that  he  was  to 
go  to  School — The  Journey  to  Exeter — His  Examination  by  the 
Principal  of  Phillips  Academy — His  Diffidence  and  Application 
—  Daniel's  marked  Success — Returns  to  Salisbury,  and  com- 
mences as  Schoolmaster  —  He  is  placed  with  Dr.  Wood,  of  Bos- 
cawen  —  His  Emotion  upon  hearing  that  he  was  to  be  sent  to 

College 35 

(vii) 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Virgil  and  Cicero  —  Don  Quixote  —  Grotius  and  Puffendorf — A 
long  Recitation  —  Daniel  a  poor  Harvester  —  A  new  Impetus  to 
his  Studies  —  Advantages  of  Education  in  the  Olden  Time  — 
The  Journey  to  Hanover — The  true-blue  Suit — Storm  and  Delay 

—  Arrival  at  Hanover  —  Making  Toilet  in  Fast  Colors  —  Manly 
Appearance,  in  Spite  of  Disadvantages — Daniel  enters  as  Fresh- 
man— His  Habits  while  at  Dartmouth  —  His  Manner  of  Compo. 
sition — Fondness  for  Out-door  Exercise — Apostrophes  to  the  Cod 
and  the  Trout — Mr.  Webster  and  the  Farmer — Mr.  Webster  and 
the  Quails  —  His  First  Trout 59 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Studies  of  the  first  two  Years  at  Dartmouth — Young  Webster  a 
Schoolmaster  in  the  Vacations  —  His  Fondness  for  a  Scholar's 
Life — His  desire  that  his  Brother  Ezekiel  should  share  his  Pur- 
suits—  Difficulties  in  the  Way  —  The  Young  Men  pass  a  Night 
in  considering  them — Importance  of  Ezekiel's  aid  to  his  Father 

—  Daniel  introduces  the  Subject  to  the  Old  Gentleman  —  The 
Mother  called  in  to  advise — Her  prompt  Decision — Ezekiel  enters 
upon  a  Course  of  Preparation,  and  Daniel  returns  to  College  — 
Change  in  his  Costume — His  Attention,  through  Life,  to  Personal 
Neatness  —  Third  Year  in  College  —  Mr.  Webster  takes  high 
Rank  —  Fourth  of  July  Oration  in  1800  —  Anecdote  of  General 
Stark 81 

CHAPTER  V. 

Specimens  of  Daniel  Webster's  College  Composition  —  The  Dart- 
mouth Gazette — Man — Essay  on  Peace — Eulogy  on  a  Classmate 
— Washington — Later  Poetry — "The  Memory  of  the  Heart" — 
Mr.  Webster  an  Improvisator  —  Mr.  Webster  and  the  Child  — 
Commencement  Exercises  —  Mr.  Webster's  Disappointment  — 
Professor  Woodward's  Opinion  of  Mr.  Webster  —  The  Pupii'a 
kind  Recollections — Lessons  of  Daniel  Webster's  Childhood,  109 


CONTENTS.  IX 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Mr.  Webster  at  Fryeburg  —  His  Labors  as  Assistant  Recorder  of 
Deeds — His  Economy  and  Prudence  —  His  continued  Efforts  at 
Improvement  —  Rev.  Mr.  Fessenden  —  Hon.  T.  W.  Thompson  — 
Mr.  Webster  resumes  his  Law  Studies  —  Coke  upon  Littleton  — 
Webster  upon  Coke — Webster  as  a  Collector  of  Debts  —  Mr. 
Webster  goes  to  Boston,  and  enters  the  Office  of  Hon.  Christo- 
pher Gore  —  Character  of  that  Gentleman  —  Mr.  Webster's  con- 
tinued Industry — He  is  tendered  the  Clerkship  of  a  New  Hamp- 
shire Court  —  Under  Advice  of  Mr.  Gore  he  declines  it  —  The 
Astonishment  and  Chagrin  of  his  Father 124 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Mr.  Webster  admitted  to  the  Bar  —  Establishes  himself  in  New 
Hampshire  —  His  first  cause  —  Death  of  his  father  —  A  son's 
testimony — The  trial  of  a  dumb  depredator — Fourth  of  July 
Oration  in  1806  —  Opinions  of  France  —  Relations  of  Agri- 
culture and  Commerce  —  Monthly  Anthology  —  Mr.  Webster's 
first  criminal  case  —  His  fatiguing  journeys  —  His  abhorrence 
of  affectation  —  Mode  of  addressing  a  jury  —  Admission  to  the 
Superior  Court 145 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  New  Hampshire  Bar — Mr.  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Mason  — 
Professional  Anecdotes — The  Drilled  Witness — Webster's  Farm 
— Mr.  Webster's  Marriage — State  of  the  Country  and  of  Parties 

—  New  England   Interests  —  The  Bar  as   an   Introduction  to 
Public  Life  —  Mr.  Webster  in  "  caucus"  —  Popular  Enthusiasm 

—  Mr.  Webster's  Professional  Industry  —  His  Habits  of  Early 
Rising  —  His  Letter  upon  the  Morning 1G2 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Mr.  Webster  a  Candidate  for  Congress  —  His  account  of  his  Ser- 
vices in  the  State  Legislature —  Mr.  Webster  elected  Represen 


X  CONTENTS. 

tative  from  New  Hampshire  —  Appointed  a  Member  of  tho 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  —  Mr.  Webster's  First  Speech  — 
Resolution  of  Inquiry  relative  to  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees 
— Character  and  Impression  of  Mr.  Webster's  Speech — Remarks 
upon  the  Navy  and  the  Embargo — Loss  of  Mr.  Webster's  House 
by  Fire — Re-elected  to  Congress — Position  of  the  Country  after 
the  War — Attitude  of  the  South  towards  a  Tariff — Mr.  Webster's 
Course  on  the  Bank  and  Tariff  Questions  —  Death  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster's Mother 183 

CHAPTER  X. 

Mr.  Webster's  removal  to  Boston — His  entrance  upon  Professional 
life  in  that  Metropolis  —  His  manner  at  the  Bar  —  Personal 
Characteristics  —  Death  of  his  Child — The  Dartmouth  College 
Case — Mr.  Webster  as  a  Constitutional  Lawyer  —  The  United 
States  Supreme  Court — Dartmouth  and  the  Indians — The  Nan- 
tucket Friend — Summary  of  his  Professional  career 203 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Pilgrim  Address  at  Plymouth — A  Prophecy — Its  fulfilment — 
Foundation  of  Bunker-Hill  Monument — Completion  of  the  Monu- 
ment—  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson — Other  Eulogies  —  The 
Washington  Address,  in  1832  —  Address  at  the  Capitol  enlarge- 
ment—  The  Trial  of  the  Knapps  for  the  Murder  of  Captain 
Joseph  White  —  Power  of  Conscience 223 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Mr.  Webster's  reluctance  to  re-enter  Congress  —  nis  Election 
in  1822  and  1824  —  Present  of  an  Annuity  —  Speech  upon  the 
Greek  Question — The  Panama  Mission — Mr.  Adams's  Adminis- 
tration—  Mr.  Webster's  Labors  in  Committee  —  His  Election  as 
Senator  —  Death  of  his  Wife — Webster  and  Hayne  —  Death  of 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Ezekiel  "Webster — Nullification  —  The  Bank  Question — Faneuil 
Hall  Dinner — Visit  to  England  —  Mr.  Webster  as  Secretary  of 
State — Again  in  the  Senate — Mexican  War — Death  of  his  Son 
Edward — Again  Secretary — Hulseman — Kossuth 237 

CHAPTEK  XIII. 

Elms  Farm — Marshfield — Close  of  Mr.  Webster's  Life — His  Illness 
and  Death — His  Burial — His  Will — Religious  Opinicna  —Con- 
clusion    260 


THE   LIFE 


OP 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Opening  Remarks  — The  Webster  Family— Birth  of  Daniel— His 

Parents,  Brothers  and  Sisters  — His  Early  Years  —  Remarks  of 
Mr.  Hillard  — Mr.  Webster's  Reference  to  his  Birth-place  — 
Daniel  Webster's  first  Teachers— Mr.  Thomas  Chase— Mr.  James 
Tappan— Letters  of  Mr.  Webster  to  Mr.  Tappan— The  old  School- 
master's  Recollections  of  his  Pupils  -  Mr.  Webster's  generous 
Presents  to  his  old  Instructor  — Mr.  William  Hoyt  —  Daniel 
Webster's  first  Copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  — 
Long  Walks  to  School  —  Daniel  Webster's  Father  a  natural 
Elocutionist -The  Son  taught  by  the  Father  —  Little  Dan's 
Reading — Anecdote. 

_  In  a  republican  country,  the  circumstances  of 
birth  confer  no  claim  to  honor  or  distinction ;  and 
the  descendants  of  great  men  and  public  benefac- 
tors are  entitled  to  uo  consideration  on  account  of 
their  parentage,  except  so  far  as  the  son  is  per- 

2  '13) 


14  LIFE    OP 

mitted  to  share  in  the  sentiment  of  gratitude 
due  to  the  father.  And,  when  that  son  is  worthy, 
and  honors  the  memory  of  his  parents  by  perpetu- 
ating their  virtues,  he  is  entitled  to  an  honest 
pride  in  his  ancestry.  This  is  a  natural  feeling, 
which  no  political  theory  can  eradicate.  But 
when,  on  the  other  hand,  the  unworthy  eon  of  a 
worthy  parent  degrades  his  family,  he  meets  with 
a  contempt  proportioned  to  the  esteem  in  which 
his  ancestors  were  held.  This  is  natural  justice, 
which  no  law  of  primogeniture  can  wholly  avert, 
and  which,  in  the  absence  of  such  laws,  is  always 
meted  out  to  the  transgressor. 

Still,  in  a  biographical  work,  it  is  a  proper  com- 
pliment to  the  subject  to  notice  his  ancestry ;  and, 
furthermore,  it  is  useful  as  exhibiting  the  circum- 
stances and  associations  which  combined,  in  early 
life,  to  form  the  characters  of  those  who  are  worthy 
of  such  commemoration.  The  family  to  which 
Daniel  Webster  belonged  was  of  Scottish  origin, 
but  the  descendants  had  resided  so  long  in  Eng- 
land, previous  to  their  emigration  to  America,  that 
all  distinct  traces  of  this  extraction  were  lost. 
Thomas  Webster  emigrated  from  Norfolk,  England, 
in  1656,  sixteen  years  after  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims  at  Plymouth.     He  settled  at  Hampton, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  15 

on  the  sea-coast  of  New  Hampshire.  From  him 
descended  two  of  the  most  remarkable  men  this 
country  has  produced;  Dr.  Noah  Webster,  the 
author  of  the  American  Dictionary  of  the  English 
language,  and  Daniel  Webster,  the  distinguished 
statesman,  whose  life  we  are  about  to  hold  up  as 
an  example  for  the  emulation  of  his  young 
countrymen. 

Daniel  Webster,  of  the  fourth  generation  from 
the  original  settler,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Salisbury, 
New  Hampshire,  on  the  18th  of  January,  1782. 
His  father,  Ebenezer  Webster,  was  a  soldier  in 
two  wars  —  serving  as  a  member  of  a  volunteer 
corps  in  the  French  war,  which  closed  in  1763, 
and  afterward  employing  his  military  experience 
in  the  protracted  struggle  which  established  the 
freedom  of  the  United  States  of  America.  As 
commander  of  a  volunteer  company  he  served 
under  Stark  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Benning- 
ton, and  performed  a  most  important  part  in  that 
engagement.  He  was  present  at  the  battle  of 
White  Plains,  and  was  distinguished  as  a  popular 
and  most  efficient  commander.  He  was  of  athletic 
stature  and  commanding  appearance;  having  been 
trained  in  that  border  school  of  hardship  and 
endurance,  which   gave  to  the  founders  of  this 


16  LIFE    OF 

Republic  the  physical  development  which  seconded 
their  mental  and  moral  strength. 

The  township  of  Salisbury  was  mostly  settled 
by  retired  soldiers  of  the  French  war.  Ebenezer 
Webster  being  one  of  the  original  grantees,  and 
his  tract  lying  in  the  northerly  part  of  the  town- 
ship, his  son  used  to  say  of  him,  that,  for  many 
years,  the  smoke  of  his  cabin  ascended  nearer  the 
North  Star  than  that  of  any  other  of  his  Majesty's 
New  England  subjects.  To  the  north,  as  far  as 
the  boundaries  of  Canada,  all  was  a  wilderness. 
Ebenezer  Webster  settled  on  this  tract  in  1764, 
and,  very  soon  after,  his  wife  died,  leaving  five 
children.  This  family  consisted  of  three  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Mr.  Webster  then  married  Abigail 
Eastman,  of  Salisbury,  and  by  this  second  union 
became  the  father  of  three  daughters,  and  two 
sons,  Ezekiel  and  Daniel.  Of  the  sons  by  the  first 
marriage  one  died  young,  and  the  other  removed 
to  Canada.  The  third  son,  Joseph,  will  be  noticed 
in  these  pages  in  connection  with  our  subject. 
Ezekiel,  the  only  brother  of  Daniel  by  the  same 
mother,  lived  to  share  the  hopes  and  almost  the 
triumphs  of  the  rising  statesman ;  but  he  died 
twenty  years  before  Daniel,  all  the  others,  with  the 
exception  of  one  sister,  having  preceded,  him  to 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  17 

the  grave.  That  sister,  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
died  in  1831. 

Thus,  being  the  ninth  child  in  a  family  of  ten, 
we  may  readily  infer  that  his  father,  a  backwoods 
settler,  had  not  sufficient  means  to  afford  any  great 
educational  advantages  to  Daniel  Webster.  But 
he  received  the  tuition  of  circumstances — adverse 
circumstances  —  a  hard  discipline  to  undergo,  but 
productive  of  solid  and  enduring  results.  An 
eloquent  writer,  in  noticing  the  early  years  of  the 
distinguished  statesman,  says :  "  Daniel  Webster 
was  fortunate  in  the  outward  circumstances  of  his 
birth  and  breeding.  He  came  from  that  class  in 
society  whence  almost  all  the  great  men  of  Ame- 
rica have  come,  —  the  two  Adamses,  Washington, 
Hancock,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Clay,  and  almost 
every  living  notable  of  our  time.  Our  Hercules 
was  also  cradled  on  the  ground.  He  had  small 
opportunities  for  academical  education.  The 
schoolmaster  was  ' abroad'  in  New  Hampshire; 
he  was  seldom  at  home  in  Salisbury.  Only  two 
or  three  months  in  a  year  was  there  a  school,  and 
that  was  two  or  three  miles  off.  Thither  went 
Daniel  Webster,  a  brave,  bright  boy,  '  the  father 
of  the  man.'  The  school-house  of  New  England 
is  the  cradle  of  her  greatness." 

2* 


18  LIFE    OF 

Hon.  George  S.  Hilliard  spoke  as  follows,  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  funeral  obsequies  of  Daniel 
Webster,  in  Boston,  concerning  the  surroundings 
and  associations  of  the  lad,  whose  fame  as  a  man 
is  now  spread  throughout  all  the  world  :  "  He  was 
fortunate  in  the  accident,  or  rather  the  Providence 
of  his  birth.  His  father  was  a  man  of  uncommon 
strength  of  mind  and  worth  of  character,  who  had 
served  his  country  faithfully  in  trying  times,  and 
yarned,  in  a  high  degree,  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  his  neighbors;  —  a  man  of  large  and 
loving  heart,  whose  efforts  and  sacrifices  for  his 
children  were  repaid  by  them  with  most  affectionate 
veneration.  The  energy  and  good  sense  of  Daniel's 
mother  exerted  a  strong  influence  upon  the  minds 
and  characters  of  her  children.  He  was  born  to 
the  discipline  of  poverty,  but  a  poverty  such  as 
braces  and  stimulates,  not  such  as  crushes  and 
paralyzes.  The  region  in  which  his  boyhood  was 
passed  was  new  and  wild,  books  were  not  easy  to 
be  had,  schools  were  only  an  occasional  privilege, 
and  intercourse  with  the  more  settled  parts  of  the 
country  was  difficult  and  rare. 

"  But  the  scarcity  of  mental  food  and  mental 
excitement  had  its  advantages,  and  his  training 
was  good,  however  imperfect  his  teaching  might 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  19 

have  been.  His  labors  upon  the  farm  helped  to 
form  that  vigorous  constitution,  which  enabled  him 
to  sustain  the  immense  pressure  of  cares  and  duties 
laid  upon  him  in  after  years.  Such  books  as  he 
could  procure  were  read  with  heartfelt  avidity, 
and  all  the  powers  of  his  mind  devoted  to  their 
study.  The  conversation  of  a  household,  presided 
over  by  a  strong-minded  father,  and  a  sensible, 
loving  mother,  helped  to  train  the  faculties  of  the 
younger  members  of  the  family.  Nor  were  their 
winter  evenings  wanting  in  topics  which  had  a 
fresher  interest  than  any  which  books  could 
furnish.  There  were  stirring  tales  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle  and  the  old  French  war,  in  both 
of  which  his  father  had  taken  a  part,  with  many 
traditions  of  the  hardships  and  perils  of  border 
life,  and  harrowing  narratives  of  Indian  captivity, 
all  of  which  sunk  deep  into  the  heart  of  the 
impressible  boy. 

"  The  ample  page  of  Nature  was  ever  before  his 
eyes,  not  beautiful  nor  picturesque,  but  stern,  wild, 
and  solitary,  covered  with  a  primeval  forest,  in 
winter  swept  over  by  tremendous  storms,  but  in 
summer  putting  on  a  short-lived  grace,  and  in 
autumn  glowing  with  an  imperial  pomp  of  coloring. 
In  the  deep,  lonely  woods,  by  the  rushing  streams, 


20  life  or 

under  the  frosty  stars  of  winter,  the  musing  boy 
gathered  food  for  his  growing  mind.  There,  to 
him,  the  mighty  mother  unveiled  her  awful  face ; 
and  there,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  dauntless 
child  stretched  forth  his  hands  and  smiled.  We 
feel  a  pensive  pleasure  in  calling  up  the  image  of 
this  slender,  dark-browed,  bright-eyed  youth,  going 
forth  in  the  morning  of  life  to  sow  the  seed  of 
future  years.  A  loving  brother,  and  a  loving  and 
dutiful  son,  he  is  cheerful  under  privation,  and 
patient  under  restraint.  Whatever  work  he  finds 
to  do,  whether  with  the  brain  or  the  hand,  he 
does  it  with  all  his  might.  He  opens  his  mind  to 
every  ray  of  knowledge  which  breaks  in  upon 
him.  Every  step  is  a  progress,  and  every  blow 
removes  an  obstacle.  Onward,  ever  onward  he 
moves;  borne  against  the  wind  and  against  the 
tide  by  a  self-derived  and  self-sustained  impulse. 
He  makes  friends,  awakens  interest,  inspires  hopes. 
Thus,  with  these  good  angels  about  him,  he  passes 
from  boyhood  to  youth,  and  from  youth  to  early 
manhood.  The  school  and  the  college  have  given 
him  what  they  had  to  give  ;  an  excellent  profes- 
sional training  has  been  secured ;  and  now.  with 
a  vigorous  frame  and  a  spirit  patient  of  labor, 
with  manly  self-reliance,  and  a  heart  glowing  with 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  21 

generous  ambition  and  warm  affections,  the  man, 
Daniel  Webster,  stepped  forth  into  the  arena  of 
life." 

At  the  time  when  Daniel  Webster  was  born, 
nearly  twenty  years  after  his  father's  settlement 
in  Salisbury,  the  original  cabin  had  given  way  to 
a  more  substantial  house.  That  house  has  also 
been  removed,  and  the  traces  of  the  cellar  alone 
indicate  the  spot  where  it  stood.  Near  the  site  is 
an  old  well,  excavated  by  his  father;  and  the 
premises  are  sheltered  by  a  giant  elm,  planted  a 
year  or  two  before  the  birth  of  Daniel.  Under 
this  elm  Mr.  Webster,  when  a  man,  and  engaged 
in  the  labors  of  his  profession,  or  the  cares  of 
State,  always  sat  at  least  once  in  a  year,  and 
drank  of  the  waters  of  the  well  which  his  father 
had  dug.  The  site  of  the  old  house  and  of  the 
log-cabin,  the  fruit  and  other  trees  which  his  father 
and  grandfather  had  planted,  and  the  many  ob- 
jects which  recalled  the  memory  of  his  childhood, 
were  to  him  sources  of  inspiration.  His  feelings 
are  well  expressed  in  a  speech  which  he  made  in 
1840,  when  General  Harrison  was  a  candidate  for 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  said  :  "  It  is 
only  shallow-minded  pretenders  who  either  make 
distinguished  origin  matter  of  personal  merit,  or 


22  LIFE    OF 

obscure  origin  matter  of  personal  reproach.  Taunt 
and  scoffing  at  the  humble  condition  of  early  life 
affect  nobody,  in  this  country,  but  those  who  are 
foolish  enough  to  indulge  in  them ;  and  they  are 
generally  sufficiently  punished  by  public  rebuke. 
A  man  who  is  not  ashamed  of  himself  need  not 
be  ashamed  of  his  early  condition. 

"  It  did  not  happen  to  me  to  be  born  in  a  log- 
cabin,  but  my  elder  brothers  and  sisters  were  born 
in  a  log-cabin,  raised  amid  the  snow-drifts  of  New 
Hampshire,  at  a  period  so  early,  that  when  the 
smoke  first  rose  from  its  chimney  and  curled  over 
the  frozen  hills,  there  was  no  similar  evidence  of  a 
white  man's  habitation  between  it  and  the  settle- 
ments on  the  rivers  of  Canada.  Its  remains  still 
exist.  I  make  to  it  an  annual  visit.  I  carry  my 
children  to  it,  to  teach  them  the  hardships  endured 
by  the  generations  which  have  gone  before  them. 
I  love  to  dwell  on  the  tender  recollections,  the 
kindred  ties,  the  early  affections,  and  the  touching 
narrations  and  incidents  which  mingle  with  all  I 
know  of  this  primitive  family  abode.  I  weep  to 
think  that  none  of  those  who  inhabited  it  are  now 
among  the  living ;  and  if  ever  I  am  ashamed  of 
it,  or  if  ever  I  fail  in  affectionate  veneration  for 
him  who  raised  it,  and  defended  it  against  savage 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  23 

violence  and  destruction,  cherished  all  the  domestic 
virtues  beneath  its  roof,  and,  through  the  fire  and 
blood  of  a  seven  years'  revolutionary  war,  shrunk 
from  no  danger,  no  toil,  no  sacrifice  to  serve  his 
country,  and  to  raise  his  children  to  a  better  con- 
dition than  his  own,  may  my  name,  and  the  name 
of  my  posterity,  be  blotted  forever  from  the 
memory  of  mankind." 

There  were  other  reminiscences  connected  with 
a  log  building,  which  were  dear  to  Mr.  Webster, 
and  are  interesting  to  those  who  read  his  life.  The 
first  school-house  which  young  Daniel  ever  entered 
was  built  of  logs,  and  in  this  humble  building  the 
boy  studied  the  rudiments  of  the  education  which, 
by  the  aid  of  natural  talents,  seconded  by  appli- 
cation, made  him  the  great  jurist  and  statesman. 
Daniel's  first  school  experience  was  not  in  a  public, 
but  in  a  "subscription  school,"  opened  at  the 
request,  and  under  the  patronage  of  Colonel 
Webster,  his  father,  and  other  residents  in  the 
vicinity.  The  teacher  was  Mr.  Thomas  Chase. 
Daniel  Webster  had,  however,  before  entering 
this  school,  the  privilege  of  the  best  of  teachers, 
his  mother.  She  taught  him  to  read,  and  the  first 
book  which  he  remembered  reading  was  the  Bible. 
The  mother  of  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  Webster  had  a 


24  LIFE    OF 

mother's  ambition  for  her  children,  and  a  strong 
mind  and  capacity  to  direct  them.  As  Daniel 
was  only  about  four  years  old  when  he  entered 
this  school,  much  could  not  have  been  required  of 
the  teacher.  Daniel  appears  to  have  enjoyed  ad- 
vantages superior  to  those  of  his  brothers.  Some- 
thing of  this  was  obtained  by  his  early  delicate 
appearance,  and  something,  no  doubt,  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children.  His 
brother  Joseph  used  to  say  of  him,  in  a  good- 
humored  way,  that  "  Dan  was  sent  to  school,  that 
he  might  know  as  much  as  the  other  boys ! " 

Of  Daniel's  other  teachers  in  his  infancy  we 
happen  to  possess  some  very  pleasant  memorials. 
One  of  them,  James  Tappan,  died  at  Gloucester, 
Massachusetts,  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Webster. 
In  1851  he  reminded  his  distinguished  pupil  that 
he  was  still  alive,  and  received  from  him  the 
following  letter : 

"  Washington,  Feb.  2Qth,  1851. 

"  Master  Tappan, — I  thank  you  for  your  letter, 
and  am  rejoiced  to  hear  that  you  are  still  among 
the  living.  I  remember  you  perfectly  well  as  a 
teacher  of  my  infant  years.  I  suppose  my  mother 
must  have  taught  me  to  read  very  early,  as  I  have 
never  been  able  to  recollect  the  time  when  I  could 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  25 

not  read  the  Bible.  I  think  Master  Chase  was 
my  earliest  schoolmaster,  probably  when  I  was 
three  or  four  years  old.  Then  came  Master 
Tappan.  You  boarded  at  our  house,  and  some- 
times I  think  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Benjamin  San- 
born, our  neighbor,  the  lame  man.  Most  )f  those 
whom  you  knew  in  New  Salisbury  have  gone  to 
their  graves.  Mr.  John  Sanborn,  the  son  of  Ben- 
jamin, is  yet  living,  and  is  about  your  age.  Mr. 
John  Colby,  who  married  my  eldest  sister, 
Susannah,  is  also  living.  On  the  North  road  is 
Mr.  Benjamin  Pettingill.  I  think  of  none  else 
among  the  living  whom  you  would  possibly  re- 
member. You  have,  indeed,  lived  a  checkered 
life.  I  hope  you  have  been  able  to  bear  prosperity 
with  meekness,  and  adversity  with  patience. 
These  things  are  all  ordered  for  us,  far  better  than 
we  can  order  them  for  ourselves.  We  may  pray 
for  our  daily  bread ;  we  may  pray  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins ;  we  may  pray  to  be  kept  from  tempta- 
tion, and  that  the  kingdom  of  God  may  come,  in 
us,  and  in  all  men,  and  his  will  everywhere  be 
done.  Beyond  this,  we  hardly  know  for  what 
good  to  supplicate  the  Divine  Mercy.  Our 
Heavenly  Father  knoweth  what  we  have  need  of 
better  than  we  do  ourselves,  and  we  are  sure  that 

3 


26  LIFE    OF 

his  eye  and  his  loving  kindness  are  upon  us  and 
around  us,  every  moment.  I  thank  you  again, 
my  good  old  schoolmaster,  for  your  kind  letter, 
which  has  awakened  many  sleeping  recollections; 
and  with  all  good  wishes, 

"I  remain  your  friend  and  pupil, 

"Daniel  Webster." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Transcript,  who 
met  Mr.  Tappan  at  Gloucester  in  the  summer  of 
1852,  gives  us  the  schoolmaster's  reminiscences  of 
his  pupil.  "  Master  Tappan  "  at  that  time  was  in 
his  eighty-sixth  year,  somewhat  infirm,  but  with 
his  intellectual  faculties  bright  and  vivid,  espe- 
cially on  the  subject  of  his  old  pupil,  whom  he 
esteemed  the  foremost  man  of  his  time,  and  in 
whose  fame  he  took  a  justifiable  and  natural  pride. 
"Daniel  was  always  the  brightest  boy  in  the 
school,"  said  Master  Tappan,  "  and  Ezekiel  the 
next ;  but  Daniel  was  much  quicker  at  his  studies 
than  his  brother.  He  would  learn  more  in  five 
minutes  than  any  other  boy  would  in  five  hours. 
One  Saturday,  I  remember,  I  held  up  a  handscme 
new  knife  to  the  scholars,  and  said  the  boy  who 
would  commit  to  memory  the  greatest  number  of 
verses  in  the  Bible,  by  Monday  morning,  should 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  27 

have  it.  Many  of  the  boys  did  well ;  but  when 
it  came  to  Daniel's  turn  to  recite,  I  found  that  he 
had  committed  so  much  that,  after  hearing  him 
repeat  some  sixty  or  seventy  verses,  I  was  obliged 
to  give  up,  he  telling  me  that  there  were  several 
chapters  yet  that  he  had  learned.  Daniel  got 
that  jack-knife.  Ah !  Sir,  he  was  remarkable, 
even  as  a  boy ;  and  I  told  his  father  he  would  do 
God's  work  injustice,  if  he  did  not  send  both 
Daniel  and  Ezekiel  to  college.  The  old  man  said 
he  could  not  well  afford  it;  but  I  told  him  he 
must,  and  he  finally  did.  And  didn't  they  both 
justify  my  good  opinion  ?" 

The  paper  containing  this  notice  of  "Master 
Tappan"  was  shown  to  Mr.  Webster,  and  he 
instantly  wrote  and  despatched  the  following 
letter  to  the  old  gentleman  : — 

"  Boston,  July  20th,  1852. 

"Master  Tappan,  —  I  learn  with  much  plea- 
sure, through  the  public  press,  that  you  still  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  life,  with  mental  faculties  bright 
and  vivid,  although  you  have  arrived  at  a  very 
advanced  age,  and  are  somewhat  mfirm.  I  came 
to-day  from  the  very  spot  in  which  you  taught 
me ;  and  to  me  a  most  delightful  spot  it  is.     The 


28  LIFE    OF 

river  and  the  hills  are  as  beautiful  as  ever,  but  the 
graves  of  my  father  and  mother,  and  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  early  friends,  gave  it  to  me  something 
of  the  appearance  of  a  city  of  the  dead.  But  let 
me  not  repine.  You  have  lived  long,  and  my  life 
is  already  not  short,  and  we  have  both  much  to 
be  thankful  for.  Two  or  three  persons  are  yet 
living,  who,  like  myself,  were  brought  up  sub  tua 
ferula.  They  remember  ;  Master  Tappan.'  And 
now,  my  good  old  master,  receive  a  renewed  tri- 
bute of  affectionate  regard  from  your  grateful 
pupil,  with  his  wishes  and  prayers  for  your  happi- 
ness in  all  that  remains  to  you  in  this  life,  and, 
more  especially,  for  your  participation  hereafter 
in  the  durable  riches  of  righteousness. 

"  Daniel  Webster." 

The  "renewed  tribute  of  affectionate  regard'' 
spoken  of  in  the  above  letter  was  an  enclosure  of 
twenty  dollars.  In  the  first  letter,  sent  the  year 
before,  Mr.  Webster  enclosed  fifty.  It  is  pleasant 
to  record  these  evidences  of  the  affection  of  the  man 
for  the  teacher  of  his  childhood ;  and  it  is  useful 
also  to  notice  what  appreciation  the  aged  states- 
man had  of  the  services  of  those  who  introduced 
him  to  the  first  humble  acquisitions  in  the  course 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  29 

of  education  which  made  him  great.  We  have 
got  another  memorial  of  Mr.  Webster's  early 
teachers,  preserved  by  his  private  secretary,  Mr. 
Lanman.  It  is  a  memorandum  of  his  conversa- 
tion respecting  Mr.  Hoyt. 

"Mr.  William  Hoyt  was,  for  many  years, 
teacher  of  our  county  school  in  Salisbury :  I  do 
not  call  it  village  school,  because  there  was  at  that 
time  no  village ;  and  boys  came  to  school  in  the 
winter,  the  only  season  in  which  schools  were 
usually  open,  from  distances  of  several  miles, 
wading  through  the  snow,  or  running  upon  its 
crust,  with  their  curly  hair  often  whitened  with 
frost  from  their  own  breaths.  I  knew  William 
Hoyt  well,  and  every  truant  knew  him.  He  was 
an  austere  man,  but  a  good  teacher  of  children. 
He  had  been  a  printer  in  Newburyport,  wrote  a 
very  fair  and  excellent  hand,  was  a  good  reader, 
and  could  teach  boys,  that  which  so  few  masters 
can  or  will  do,  to  read  well  themselves.  Beyond 
this,  and  a  very  slight  knowledge  of  grammar,  his 
attainments  did  not  extend.  He  had  brought  with 
him  into  the  town  a  little  property,  which  he  took 
very  good  care  of.  He  rather  loved  money ;  of 
all  the  pronouns  preferring  the  possessive ;  he  also 
kept  a  little  shop  for  the  sale  of  various  commo- 

3* 


30  LIFE    OF 

dities.  I  do  not  know  how  old  I  was,  but  I 
remember  having  gone  into  his  shop  one  day,  and 
bought  a  small  cotton  pocket-handkerchief,  with 
a  Constitution  of  the  United  States  printed  on  its 
two  sides;  from  this  I  just  learned  either  that 
there  was  a  Constitution,  or  that  there  were  Unit  ,d 
States.  I  remember  to  have  read  it,  and  have 
known  more  or  less  of  it  ever  since.  William 
Hoyt  and  his  wife  lie  buried  in  the  grave-yard  on 
my  farm,  near  the  graves  of  my  own  family.  He 
left  no  children.  I  suppose  that  this  little  hand- 
kerchief was  purchased  about  the  time  that  I  was 
eight  years  old,  as  I  remember  listening  to  the 
conversation  of  my  father  and  Mr.  Thompson 
upon  political  events  which  happened  in  the  year 
1790." 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  only 
ratified  in  1789  by  the  several  States,  and  had 
hardly,  at  the  time  when  Daniel  Webster  com- 
menced the  study  of  it,  gone  into  operation.  The 
purchase  exhausted  his  juvenile  purse;  and  the 
afternoon  and  evening  of  the  day  on  which  it 
came  into  his  possession  were  spent  in  poring  over 
and  spelling  out  its  provisions.  Little  could  his 
parents  then  have  dreamed  that  the  thoughtful 
boy  was  entering  upon  the  course  of  study,  at 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  31 

eight  years. of  age,  which  should  qualify  him  for 
the  title  of  "  Expounder  of  the  Constitution." 

There  were  three  school-houses  in  the  township 
of  Salisbury,  which  were  situated  several  miles 
apart.  The  first  was  near  Colonel  Webster's  resi- 
dence ;  the  next  at  perhaps  three  miles'  distance ; 
the  third  in  the  extreme  part  of  the  township. 
The  teacher  divided  his  time  betveen  the  three. 
When  the  school  was  in  the  centre  school-house, 
young  Daniel  went  in  the  morning,  taking  his 
dinner,  and  returned  at  night;  and  when  the 
schoolmaster  was  in  the  western  part  of  his  cir- 
cuit, the  young  student  boarded  near  the  school- 
house,  going  on  foot  on  Monday  morning,  and 
returning  on  Saturday  evening.  Such  disadvan- 
tages, as  we  should  now  consider  them,  were,  by 
the  youth  of  that  day,  considered  to  be  great 
opportunities. 

We  have  mentioned  Daniel's  indebtedness  to 
his  mother  for  early  instruction.  It  is  due  to  his 
father  also  to  state  that  his  influence  and  example 
did  much  for  his  child.  Colonel  Webster  was  a 
man  of  strong  natural  talents,  and  is  said  to  have 
had  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
elocution.  His  voice  was  loud,  clear,  and  musical, 
and  his  reading  and  speaking  were  of  the  best 


32  LIFE     OF 

school  of  natural  oratory.  The  books  he  delighted 
to  read  aloud  for  the  gratification  of  his  family 
and  others,  were  the  Bible,  Shakspeare,  and  Pope's 
Essay  on  Man.  To  his  occupation  as  a  farmer  he 
added  that  of  an  innkeeper ;  a  calling  which,  in 
those  days,  was  held  in  high  respect.  The 
Governor  of  Vermont  at  that  time  united  the 
vocations  of  Governor  and  landlord.  General 
Putnam  and  several  others  of  the  Revolutionary 
officers  were  innkeepers.  And  when  Colonel 
Webster,  in  1791,  was  appointed  an  Associate 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  he  still 
continued,  for  some  years,  to  entertain  travellers 
— the  gentlemanly  host — happy  to  receive  guests, 
who,  in  his  pleasant  society,  forgot  that  they  were 
not  visitors  on  purely  friendly  terms.  Colonel 
Webster  excelled  in  conversation ;  and  his  know- 
ledge of  the  Constitution  and  laws  was  such  as  to 
command  respect  for  his  opinions.  Of  course,  a 
judge  not  educated  to  the  law  was  not  expected 
to  make  decisions  on  mere  technical  points;  but 
the  union  of  practical  business  men  and  farmers, 
with  lawyers,  upon  the  bench,  has  been  found  to 
have  an  exceedingly  good  influence  in  County 
Courts  in  rural  districts;    and,  in  former  years, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  33 

when  professional  men  were  rare,  was  a  necessary 
expedient. 

With  an  inherited  taste  and  capacity  for  elocu- 
tion, and  the  lessons  of  his  father  added  to  those 
of  his  teachers,  Daniel  was  the  pet  of  the  travel- 
lers who  stopped  at  the  inn.  As  they  drew  near 
the  house,  they  thought  of  the  young  orator ;  and 
when  they  stopped,  and  the  future  statesman, 
then  a  dark-looking  boy,  had  watered  their  horses, 
or  assisted  them  in  helping  themselves,  the 
teamsters  were  wont  to  say,  "  Now,  let  us  go  in, 
and  hear  little  Dan  read  a  Psalm."  What  primi- 
tive days  were  these!  And  how  different  a  race 
of  men  were  those  old  backwoodsmen  from  their 
descendants,  who  claim  to  have  improved  under 
the  benefit  of  modern  advantages !  No  doubt  we 
have  gained  much,  but  in  the  changes  of  time  we 
have  lost  something  too.  The  teamsters  who 
could  listen  with  delight  to  a  Psalm  of  David,  and 
the  tavern  in  which  a  boy  could  be  educated  in 
such  tastes,  belonged  to  a  more  simple,  certainly 
a  not  less  virtuous  era  than  the  present. 

A  few  years  ago,  when  Daniel  Webster,  the 
Senator  of  the  United  States,  visited  the  West,  a 
citizen  of  one  of  the  new  States,  who  had  immi- 


34  LIFE    OF 

grated  from  New  Hampshire,  met  him  and  re- 
membered him. 

"  Is  this,"  he  asked,  "  the  son  of  Col.  Webster  ?" 

"  It  is,  indeed."  was  the  reply. 

"What,"  repeated  the  man,  "is  this  the  little 
black  Dan  who  used  to  water  the  horses  ?" 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  great  Daniel  Webster,  "  it 
is  the  little  black  Dan  who  used  to  water  the 
horses." 

He  was  proud  of  his  history.  "  If  a  man  finds 
the  way  alone,"  says  the  writer  from  whom  we 
derive  this  anecdote,  "  should  he  not  be  proud  of 
having  fcund  the  way?" 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  35 


CHAPTER   II. 

Danie-  Webster's  Habits  as  a  Boy — His  Employments  and  In- 
dustry—  The  Saw-mill  —  Reading  while  the  Saw  moved  —  The 
Bible,  Shakspeare,  and  Pope's  Essay  on  Man — Watt's  Hymns — 
Too  much  Light — The  Social  Library — Chevy  Chase — Webster's 
manner  of  Reading — Anecdotes  of  his  Boyhood  —  Daniel  as  an 
Office  Boy — Latin  Grammar — His  first  intimation  that  he  was  to 
go  to  School — The  Journey  to  Exeter — His,  Examination  by  the 
Principal  of  Phillips  Academy — His  Diffidence  and  Application 
—  Daniel's  marked  Success — Returns  to  Salisbury,  and  com- 
mences as  Schoolmaster  —  He  is  placed  wi^h  Dr.  Wood,  of  Bos- 
cawen  —  His  Emotion  upon  bearing  that  be  was  to  be  sent  to 
College. 

The  death  of  no  other  man  in  America  has 
called  out  more  anecdotes  and  traditions,  than 
were  thrown  to  the  world  upon  the  demise  of 
Daniel  Webster.  As  remarked  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  our  desire  is  to  furnish  the  youth  of 
America  with  an  account  of  those  traits  of  his 
character,  which  all  would  do  well  to  emulate. 
In  doing  this,  we  make  free  use  of  whatever  has 
fallen  under  our  notice,  endeavoring  to  separate 
the  true  from  the  false,  and  to  correct  such  erro 


86  LIFE    OF 

neous  statements  as  have  gained  currency,  through 
the  desire  of  all  to  contribute  something  to  the 
common  stock  of  anecdotes. 

The  writer  of  a  very  interesting  article  upon 
Webster,  in  Putnam's  Monthly  Magazine,  opens 
by  stating  that  he  had  visited  the  place  of  his 
nativity,  and  conversed  with  the  friends  of  his 
boyhood,  corresponded  with  most  of  his  surviving 
classmates  and  college  friends,  and  examined  hun- 
dreds of  his  letters.  As  the  result  of  his  investi- 
gations the  writer  has  presented  us  with  many 
important  facts  and  conclusions,  of  which  free  use 
is  made  in  this  volume,  with  this  general  acknow- 
ledgment. 

"  Daniel  Webster  performed  the  ordinary  ser- 
vices of  a  boy  upon  his  father's  farm.  His  taste 
for  agriculture,  and  his  fondness  for  rural  life  grew 
directly  out  of  the  associations  of  his  childhood. 
Imagine  to  yourself  a  slender,  black-eyed  boy, 
with  serious  mien  and  raven  locks,  leading  the 
traveller's  horse  to  water  when  he  alighted  at  his 
father's  inn ;  driving  the  cows  to  pasture  at  early 
dawn,  and  returning  with  them  at  the  gray  of 
evening;  riding  the  horse,  to  harrow  between  the 
rows  of  corn  at  wecding-time,  and  following  the 
mowers  with  a  wooden  spreader  in  haying-tune ; 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  37 

and  you  have  a  true  idea  of  the  lad  and  of  his 
duties.  In  dress,  in  the  means  of  social  and  in- 
tellectual culture,  his  condition  was  far  below  that 
of  the  sons  of  farmers  and  mechanics  of  the 
present  day.  Many  anecdotes  have  been  pub- 
lished, of  his  incapacity  for  manual  labor,  or  of 
his  aversion  to  it.  The  testimony  of  his  early 
companions  and  neighbors  contradicts,  in  general 
and  in  particulars,  all  stories  of  his  idleness. 

"He  was  an  industrious  boy.  He  labored  to 
the  extent  of  his  strength.  He  was  the  youngest 
son,  and,  perhaps,  on  that  account  received  some 
indulgences.  Men  are  now  living  who  labored 
with  him,  in  the  field  and  in  the  mill — who  shared 
his  toils  and  his  sports.  They  affirm  that  he 
always  '  worked  well  and  played  fair.'  Boys  in 
those  days  were  usually  trained  to  hard  service. 
I  have  heard  Mr.  Webster  say  that  he  had  charge 
of  his  father's  saw-mill,  and  was  accustomed  to 
tread  back  the  log-carriage,  'when  he  was  not 
heavier  than  a  robin.'  An  old  schoolmate  of  his 
told  me  that  the  mill  was  owned  in  shares,  by 
several  of  the  neighbors,  who  used  it  in  turn. 
Boys  were  put  into  the  mill  to  tend  it,  when  it 
required  the  weight  of  two  of  them  to  turn  back 
the  '  rag-wheel '  and  bring  the  log-carriage  to  its 

4 


38  LIFE    OF 

place  to  commence  a  new  cut.  He  informed  me 
that  he  had  labored  many  a  day  with  Daniel 
Webster,  in  this  old  mill,  and  that  his  companion 
was  ever  ready  to  do  his  part  of  the  service.  The 
same  boy,  Daniel,  was  accustomed  to  drive  t  lie 
team  into  the  woods,  where  his  elder  brother, 
Ezekiel,  cut  the  logs  and  assisted  in  loading  them." 

This  mill  has  been,  of  late  years,  regarded  as 
almost  classic  ground.  Mr.  Webster,  who  was 
notable  for  his  attachment  to  the  scenes  of  his 
youth,  conducted  his  guests  over  the  places  marked 
in  his  memory,  with  honest  pride.  And  the  resi- 
dents near  these  localities,  admiring  the  man  who 
in  his  fame  never  forgot  "  the  rock  whence  he  was 
hewn,"  gave  to  the  haunts  of  the  "  little  black 
Dan"  a  fame  and  a  consequence  which  is  usually 
reserved  to  be  conferred  by  posterity.  General  S. 
P.  Lyman,  for  many  j ears  the  friend  and  intimate 
of  Daniel  Webster,  gives  the  following  description 
of  the  place,  and  notice  of  its  memoirs : 

"  In  the  bed  of  a  little  brook,  near  where  Daniel 
Webster  was  born,  are  the  remains  of  a  rude  mill 
which  his  father  built  more  than  sixty  years  ago. 
The  place  is  a  dark  glen,  and  was  then  surrounded 
by  a  majestic  forest,  which  covered  the  neighboring 
hills.     To  that  mill,  Daniel  Webster,  though  u 


Young  Daniel  at  the  Saw  Mill. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  39 

small  boy,  went  frequently  to  assist  his  father. 
He  was  apt  in  learning  anything  useful,  and  soon 
became  so  expert  in  doing  everything  required, 
that  his  services  as  an  assistant  were  valuable. 
But  the  time  spent  in  manual  labor  was  not  mis- 
spent as  regarded  mental  progress.  After  '  setting 
the  saw '  and  '  hoisting  the  gate,'  and  while  the 
saw  was  passing  through  the  log,  which  usually 
occupied  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  for  each 
board,  Daniel  was  reading  attentively  some  book, 
which  he  was  permitted  to  take  from  the  house. 
He  had  a  passion,  thus  early,  for  reading  history 
and  biography." 

There,  surrounded  by  forests,  in  the  midst  of 
the  great  noise  which  such  a  mill  makes,  and  this- 
too  without  materially  neglecting  his  task,  he 
made  himself  familiar  with  the  most  remarkable 
events  in  history,  and  with  the  lives  and  charac- 
ters of  those  who  have  furnished  materials  for  its 
pages.  What  he  read  there  he  never  forgot.  So 
tenacious  was  his  memory,  that  he  could  recite 
long  passages  from  books  which  he  read  there,  and 
scarcely  looked  at  afterward.  The  solitude  of  the 
scene,  the  absence  of  everything  to  divert  his 
attention,  the  simplicity  of  his  occupation,  the 
thoughtful  and  taciturn  manner  of  his  father,  all 


40  LIFE    OF 

favored  the  process  of  transplanting  every  idea 
found  in  these  books  to  his  own  fresh,  fruitful  and 
vigorous  mind. 

Books  were,  however,  hard  to  find  in  that  se- 
questered place  ;  and  the  young  student,  voracious 
of  knowledge,  was  forced  to  read  over  and  over 
again  the  old,  because  he  could  not  obtain  new. 
The  Bible,  Shakspeare,  and  Pope's  Essay  on  Man, 
we  have  already  mentioned  as  favorites  with  his 
father.  With  the  first-named,  the  first  of  all 
books,  he  was  very  familiar,  his  early  taste  for 
poetry  leading  him  to  delight  in  studying  the 
poetical  portions  of  the  inspired  volume.  The 
traces  of  this  familiarity  with  Scripture,  common 
to  most  men  of  enlarged  minds,  may  be  found 
continually  in  his  writings  and  speeches.  Pope's 
Essay  on  Man  he  committed  to  memory  on  the 
very  day  it  fell  into  his  hands ;  before  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age.  When  once  asked  why  he 
committed  that  poem  at  so  early  an  age,  he 
replied,  "  I  had  nothing  else  to  learn." 

Since  at  twelve  he  "  had  nothing  else  to  learn," 
we  may  presume  that  he  had  before  that  com- 
mitted to  memory  Watts'  Hymns  and  the  metrical 
version  of  the  Psalms.  lie  was  accustomed  to 
Bay,  in  his  later  years,  that  he  could  repeat  any 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  41 

stanza  of  Watts,  of  which  he  heard  the  first  line ; 
so  closely  did  what  he  had  conned  in  the  forest 
adhere  to  hirn.  He  needed  to  read  poetry  but 
twice  to  be  able  to  repeat  it.  While  such  a  dearth 
of  books  existed,  he  conned  his  father's  collection 
over  and  over.  Newspapers  were  not  then  flying 
like  winged  seeds  of  good  and  evil  all  over  the 
land,  and  even  a  new  almanac  was  a  treasure. 
Ezekiel  and  Daniel  had  frequent  disputes,  in  their 
limited  world  of  literature  and  knowledge ;  and, 
on  one  occasion,  after  going  to  bed,  a  question 
arose  as  to  something  in  the  new  almanac.  They 
rose  and  struck  a  light  to  settle  the  dispute,  and, 
in  their  eagerness  and  carelessness,  set  their  bed 
on  fire.  On  being  questioned  the  next  morning 
as  to  the  cause  of  the  accident,  Daniel  answered, 
"  that  they  were  in  pursuit  of  light,  and  got  too 
much  of  it." 

Books  soon  became  more  abundant.  Some  ot 
the  biographers  of  Webster  state  that  he  enjoyed 
access  to  a  "Circulating  Library."  But  the  col- 
lections of  ephemeral  and  trifling  literature  known 
under  the  name  of  circulating  libraries,  and  col- 
lected with  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  thought- 
less, and  ministering  to  the  folly  of  readers  for 

mere  amusement,  were  at  that  time  almost  un- 

4  * 


4 J  LIFE    OF 

known ;  and  we  presume  that,  to  this  day,  there 
never  has  been  such  a  collection  within  twenty 
miles  of  Daniel  Webster's  birth-place.  The  library 
to  which  he  had  access  was  what  is  called  a 
"  Social  Library,"  collected  through  the  exertions 
of  his  father,  the  clergyman,  and  Thomas  W. 
Thompson,  Esq.,  a  lawyer.  The  Social  Library 
was  divided  into  shares,  at  a  fixed  price,  which 
every  member  of  the  company  paid  upon  entrance, 
each  share  entitling  the  holder  to  certain  privi- 
leges, and  being  subject  to  an  annual  assessment, 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  number  of 
volumes.  Purchases  were  made  by  careful  com- 
mittees ;  and,  although  we  know  nothing  of  Salis- 
bury Social  Library,  we  venture  to  say,  from  our 
knowledge  of  other  similar  institutions,  that 
young  Daniel  had  a  better  opportunity  for  mental 
improvement  in  this  collection,  "fit  though  few" 
than  the  present  generation  of  youth,  whose 
spending-money  will  furnish  them  with  publica- 
tions  too  cheap  to  be  good;  and  too  much  like 
locust  swarms  in  number  to  pass  under  the  censor- 
ship of  their  elders. 

One  of  Mr.  Webster's  eulogists  has  remarked  of 
him,  that  "  he  had  read  much,  but  not  many 
books.     With  the  best  English  writers  he  was  en* 


DANJEL    WEBSTER.  43 

tirely  familiar,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  reading 
them,  and  discussing  their  merits."  Among  the 
books  in  the  library  at  Salisbury  was  the  Spectator. 
Of  this  work  he  was  very  fond ;  and,  in  after  life 
he  related  a  circumstance,  which  shows  how  pre- 
dominant was  his  love  of  poetry.  He  said  he 
remembered  turning  over  the  leaves  of  ^.ddi son's 
criticism  of  Chevy  Chase,  to  pick  out  and  read 
connectedly  the  verses  which  Addison  had  quoted. 
For  recreation  and  amusement  his  preference 
settled  upon  biography  and  travels ;  and  this  may 
have  been  a  part  of  his  "  social  library"  education. 
The  number  of  such  books  formed  a  much  larger 
portion  of  the  current  publications  at  the  end  of 
the  last  century  than  at  present ;  the  novel  had 
not  obtained  its  present  unjust  proportion  in  the 
province  of  belles-lettres.  General  Lyman  de- 
scribes his  manner  of  reading  ten  years  before  his 
death,  which  indicates  the  habit  formed,  when  to 
obtain  a  new  book  was  an  event  of  which  he  was 
disposed  to  make  the  most.  He  first  went  over 
the  index,  and  apparently  fixed  the  frame-work 
rf  it  in  his  mind;  then  he  studied  with  equal 
earnestness  the  synopsis  of  each  chapter.  Then 
he  looked  at  the  length  of  the  chapter.  Then, 
before  he  began  to  read  it,  he  took  an  accurate 


44  LIFE    OF 

survey  of  its  parts.  Then  he  read  it;  passing 
rapidly  over  what  was  common-place,  and  dwelling 
only  on  what  was  original  and  worthy  of  note. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Daniel  Webster, 
whose  playfulness  of  character  remained  through 
his  life,  was  different  from  other  boys  m  his  fond- 
ness for  amusement  in  his  childhood.  And,  al- 
though he  "  played  fair  and  worked  well,"  he  had 
a  boy's  choice  for  play  above  work,  which  he 
exhibited  upon  occasion.  His  surviving  school- 
mates deny,  however,  that  his  fondness  for  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  caused  him  to  play  the  truant 
from  school.  They  say  that  he  was  always  pre- 
sent, when  the  school  was  open,  and  always  in 
advance  of  his  associates.  In  the  laborious  occu- 
pations of  the  farm  there  were,  of  course,  some 
things  which  he  could  not  do.  He  did  not  remain 
at  home  long  enough  to  learn  to  mow.  An  anec- 
dote in  reference  to  this  has  long  been  stereotyped, 
and  current  in  the  papers.  His  awkward  hand- 
ling of  the  scythe  induced  several  attempts  on  the 
part  of  his  father  to  "  hang"  the  instrument  better 
—  that  is,  to  affix  it  to  the  handle.  But  Daniel 
could  not  be  brought  to  like  the  "  hang,"  and  his 
father  told  him  at  last  that  he  must  suit  himself. 
Hanging  it  at  once  upon  a  tree,  he  said,  "  There, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER. 


45 


father,  that's  the  hang  to  suit  me."  To  mow  re- 
quires a  strength  and  dexterity  which  are  seldom 
possessed  by  boys  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age. 
Daniel's  wit  helped  him  out  on  this  as  well  as 
other  occasions.  The  two  boys,  Ezekiel  and 
Daniel  were  once  left  a  task  to  perform,  in  the 
absence  of  their  father.  His  return  showed  the 
work  still  undone. 

"  What  have  you  been  doing  ?  "  the  father  asked 
of  the  elder  boy,  in  a  tone  of  natural  vexation. 

"  Nothing,  Sir,"  Ezekiel  was  obliged  to  confess, 
with  the  evidence  before  him. 

"  And  you,  Daniel,"  said  the  father,  "  what  have 
you  been  doing?" 

"Helping  Zeke,  Sir" 

The  force  of  logic  usually  owes  much  to  the 
inclinations  of  the  person  who  is  to  be  convinced. 
Colonel  Webster  required  that  his  sons  should  go 
regularly  to  church  on  every  Sunday,  though  the 
distance  was  about  four  miles ;  and  Daniel  com- 
plained of  the  hardship  of  so  long  a  walk.  To 
this  the  father  answered : 

"  I  see  Deacon  True's  boys  there  every  Sunday 
morning,  and  I  never  heard  of  their  complaining." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Sir,"  answered  Daniel,  "  but  the  Dea- 


16 


LIFE    OF 


con's  boys  live  halfway  there,  and  have  only  half 
as  far  to  walk." 

"Well,"  said  his  Hither,  "you  may  dress  your- 
self early,  and  run  up  to  Deacon  True's,  and  then 
you  will  have  no  farther  to  go  than  they." 

This  was  conclusive.  To  visit  Deacon  True's 
boys  was  never  a  hardship,  and  Daniel,  thereafter, 
was  always  ready  to  go  early,  and  walk  to  church 
with  them. 

In  1795,  when  Daniel  was  in  his  fourteenth 
year,  Mr.  Thompson,  the  lawyer  in  Salisbury,  in- 
duced him  to  stay  in  his  office  during  his  neces- 
sary absence,  to  answer  the  questions  of  clients 
and  others.  His  intelligence  and  his  aptitude  for 
learning  had  undoubtedly  procured  him  this  pre- 
ference ;  and,  trilling  as  the  circumstance  then 
appeared,  it  combined  with  others  to  rule  his  life. 
Many  lads,  in  such  a  place,  would  have  nursed 
habits  of  idleness,  and  amused  themselves  with 
marbles,  outside  of  the  door,  or  invited  other  lads 
to  play  with  them.  Or  they  would,  in  these  days 
of  abundance  of  bad  books,  dissipate  their  time  in 
reading  piratical  romances,  or  lives  of  highway- 
men. Mr.  Thompson,  who  knew  his  lad,  furnished 
him  with  better  amusement  He  handed  him  a 
Latin  grammar,  to  fill  up  hih  leisure ;  and  young 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  47 

Daniel  committed  lesson  after  lesson,  with  hearty 
good-will ;  having  no  higher  immediate  object  than 
to  escape  idleness,  and  gratify  Mr.  Thompson 
He  had  never  thought  of  studying  Latin  or  Greek  ; 
and  going  to  college  was  a  thing  so  clearlv  among 
impossibilities,  as  he  then  thought,  that  the  idea 
of  such  a  happiness  never  occurred  to  him.  He 
thought  he  must  make  the  most  of  his  advantages, 
and  procure  a  good  common  school  education.  It 
was  during  this  year  that  the  following  incident 
occurred,  which  we  give  in  Mr.  Webster's  own 
words.  It  is  extracted  from  a  letter  written  by 
Mr.  Webster,  while  spending  a  summer  vacation 
among  the  scenes  of  his  youth. 

"  Looking  out  at  the  east  windows  at  this  mo- 
ment, with  a  beautiful  sun  just  breaking  out,  my 
eye  sweeps  over  a  rich  and  level  field  of  one  hun- 
dred acres.  *  *  I  could  see  a  lamb  on  any  part  of 
it.  I  have  ploughed  it,  and  raked  it,  and  hoed  it; 
but  I  never  mowed  it.  Somehow  I  never  could 
learn  to  hang  a  scythe.  I  had  not  wit  enough. 
My  brother  Joe  used  to  say  that  my  father  sent 
me  to  college,  in  order  to  make  me  equal  to  the 
rest  of  the  children  ! 

"  Of  a  hot  day  in  July  —  it  must  have  been  in 
one  of  the  last  years  of  Washington's  administra 


48  LIFE    OF 

tion  —  I  was  making  hay  with  my  father,  just 
where  I  now  see  a  remaining  elm  tree.  About  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  Hon.  Abiel  Foster,  M.  C, 
who  lived  in  Canterbury,  six  miles  off',  called  at 
the  house,  and  came  into  the  field  to  see  my  father. 
He  was  a  worthy  man,  college-learned,  and  bad 
been  a  minister,  but  was  not  a  man  of  any  consi- 
derable natural  power.  My  father  was  his  friend 
and  supporter.  He  talked  a  while  in  the  field, 
and  then  went  away.  When  he  was  gone,  my 
father  called  me  to  him,  and  we  sat  down  beneath 
the  elm,  on  a  hay-cock.  He  said,  '  My  son,  that 
is  a  worthy  man.  He  is  a  member  of  Congress. 
He  goes  to  Philadelphia,  and  gets  six  dollars  a 
day,  while  I  toil  here.  It  is  because  he  had  an 
education,  which  I  never  had.  If  I  had  received 
an  equally  good  education,  I  should  have  been  in 
Philadelphia  in  his  place.  I  came  near  it,  as  it 
was.  But  I  missed  it,  and  now  I  must  continue 
to  work  here.' 

" '  My  dear  father,'  said  I,  'you  shall  not  work. 
Brother  and  I  will  work  for  you,  and  wear  our 
hands  out,  and  you  shall  rest.' 

"  And  I  remember  to  have  cried ;  and  I  cry  now 
at  the  recollection. 

"  '  My  child,'  said  he   '  it  is  of  no  importance  to 


DANIEL    WEBS  TEE.  49 

me ;  I  now  live  but  for  my  children.  I  could  not 
give  your  elder  brother  the  advantages  of  know- 
ledge, but  I  can  do  something  for  you.  Exert 
yourself;  improve  your  opportunities ;  learn,  learn; 
and,  when  I  am  gone,  you  will  not  need  to  go 
through  the  hardships  which  I  have  undergone, 
and  which  have  made  me  an  old  man  before  my 
time." 

Master  Tappan,  as  we  have  seen,  had  spoken 
to  Colonel  Webster  of  the  capacity  of  his  sons. 
Mr.  Thompson  seconded  the  schoolmaster's  advice, 
that  Daniel  should  be  educated ;  for,  the  remark- 
able tenacity  of  Daniel's  memory,  and  the  ease 
with  which  he  had  committed  the  grammar,  had 
much  surprised  and  pleased  the  lawyer.  Daniel's 
mother  urged  that  he  should  have  an  opportunity 
for  the  development  of  his  powers.  Brother  Joe, 
who,  with  his  waggery,  had  a  right  good  heart, 
added  his  voice,  putting  the  case  in  the  humorous 
light  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 
And  the  slight  form  of  Daniel  was  also  urged,  as 
making  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  enabled  to 
pursue  some  less  laborious  occupation  than  that 
of  a  New  Hampshire  farmer.  It  was,  therefore, 
determined  that  Daniel  should  be  qualified  to  teach 
a  country  school,  that  his  winter  months  might  be 

5 


50  LIFE     OF 

profitably  passed,  without  the  exposure  of  wood- 
cutting and  other  winter  avocations  in  New  Eng- 
land. In  the  summer  he  could  still  assist  upon 
the  farm.  There  were  many  such  instances  within 
their  knowledge,  and  the  young  teachers  had  done 
well.  With  these  views,  it  was  determined  to 
Bend  Daniel  Webster  to  Phillips'  Academy  in 
Exeter. 

This  Academy,  one  of  the  best  in  the  United 
States,  had  then  been  founded  about  fourteen 
years,  and  was  under  the  charge  of  the  same 
principal,  Dr.  Benjamin  Abbott,  who  lived,  and 
remained  at  Exeter,  until  after  his  Salisbury  pupil 
and  many  others  had  attained  high  positions  in 
life.  On  a  bright  morning  in  May,  1796,  Daniel 
Webster,  with  his  father,  set  out  for  Exeter. 
Daniel  rode  on  a  side-saddle,  which  was  sent  to 
Exeter  for  a  lady  to  return  upon  to  Salisbury; 
for,  in  those  days,  carriages  were  few  and  roads 
bad.  Dressed  in  his  home-made  suit,  and  thus 
curiously  mounted,  Daniel  rode  forth  to  seek  his 
fortune  ;  not  in  any  knight-errant  or  erratic  mood, 
but  with  the  fixed  purpose  of  making  the  best  use 
of  the  advantages  which  the  partiality  of  his 
father  had  opened  to  him.  The  journey  required 
(he  greater  part  of  three  days  —  two  nights  being 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  51 

Bpent  upon  the  road.  On  the  fourth  day,  the 
father  took  his  son  to  apply  for  admission  into  the 
Academy.  Fifty  years  ago  there  was  much  more 
dignity  preserved  among  official  personages  than 
at  present;  and  young  Daniel,  with  a  beating 
heart,  but  still  self-possessed,  presented  himself 
for  examination.  Dr.  Abbott  handed  him  the 
Bible,  and  requested  him  to  read  the  twenty- 
second  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St. 
Luke. 

Probably  no  task  could  have  been  given  in 
which  the  lad  of  fourteen  could  have  acquitted 
himself  to  better  advantage.  He  was  familiar 
with  the  book,  and  accustomed  to  read  aloud. 
With  an  accent  and  emphasis  which  evinced  his 
knowledge  of  what  he  read,  and  his  ability  to 
convey  the  meaning  to  his  hearers,  Daniel  read  of 
the  treachery  of  Judas,  the  Last  Supper,  the 
agony  in  Gethsemane,  the  betrayal  of  the  Saviour, 
the  weakness  of  Peter,  the  Mock  Trial  before  the 
Council,  and  the  other  incidental  themes  of  the 
chapter.  Daniel  was  in  a  strange  place,  and 
before  a  different  auditory  from  the  travellers  who 
had  so  often  listened  to  him.  He  had  not  the 
assurance  of  the  love  and  admiration  of  his 
hearers,  as  when  he  went  over  the  like  passages 


52  LIFE    OF 

at  his  father's  fireside.  But  he  concentrated  his 
mind  on  the  subject-matter,  and  forgot  all  else  in 
its  solemn  meaning.  Dr.  Abbott  listened  with 
admiration,  and  suffered  him  to  proceed  to  the 
end  of  the  long  chapter.  He  had  never  heard  it 
read  better ;  and  when  Daniel  closed  and  returned 
him  the  book,  he  simply  said,  without  asking 
another  question,  "  Young  man,  you  are  qualified 
to  enter  this  institution." 

Daniel  remained  only  nine  months  at  Exeter. 
His  first  entrance  was  a  sore  trial ;  for,  notwith- 
standing his  innate  consciousness  of  power,  his 
unfashionable  wardrobe,  his  unpolished  manners 
and  general  rustic  appearance,  exposed  him  to  the 
derision  of  lads,  who  would  now  be  forgotten  but 
for  their  accidental  meeting  as  classmates  with 
Daniel  Webster.  A  few  days  after  entering  the 
institution  he  returned  to  his  lodgings  in  great 
despondency,  and  told  his  friends  that  the  city 
boys  in  the  Academy  were  continually  laughing 
at  him,  because  he  was  at  the  foot  of  the  class, 
and  came  from  the  back-woods.  This  petty  social 
tyranny,  so  common  among  boys,  completely  de- 
pressed the  future  orator.  In  referring  to  his 
school-days,  Mr.  Webster  tells  us :  "I  believe  I 
made  tolerable  progress  in  most  branches  which  I 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  53 

attended  to  while  in  this  school,  but  there  was  one 
thing  I  could  not  do  —  I  could  not  make  a  decla- 
mation ;  1  could  not  speak  before  the  school.  The 
kind  and  excellent  Buckminster  sought  especially 
to  persuade  me  to  perform  the  exercise  of  decla- 
mation, like  other  boys,  but,  notwithstanding,  I 
could  not  do  it.  Many  a  piece  did  I  commit  to 
memory,  and  recite  and  rehearse  in  my  own  room, 
over  and  over  again;  yet,  when  the  day  came, 
and  the  school  collected  to  hear  the  declamations, 
when  my  name  was  called,  and  I  saw  all  eyes 
turned  to  my  seat,  I  could  not  raise  myself  from 
it.  Sometimes  the  instructors  frowned ;  some- 
times they  smiled.  Mr.  Buckminster  always 
pressed  and  entreated,  most  winningly,  that  I 
would  venture,  venture  only  once.  But  I  never 
could  command  sufficient  resolution."  It  is  stated 
that  Daniel  was  effectually  discouraged  when  first 
called  upon.  He  became  embarrassed,  burst  into 
tears,  and  sat  down. 

Joseph  Stevens  Buckminster  was  one  of  the 
tutors  in  the  Academy ;  Nicholas  Emery  was  an- 
other. Both  these  gentlemen,  as  well  as  Dr. 
Abbott,  discerned  the  rustic  boy's  talent ;  and  the 
progress  which  he  had  made  in  his  Latin  recrea- 
tions, in  Mr,  Thompson's  office,  stood  him  in  good 

5* 


54  LITE    OF 

stead.  Mr.  Emery,  who  was  made  acquainted 
with  Daniel's  difficulties  and  troubles  with  the 
boys,  treated  him  with  marked  kindness,  by  way 
of  encouragement.  He  urged  him  to  pay  no  heed 
to  their  taunts,  but  give  his  whole  thoughts  to  his 
books,  and  all  would  come  out  right.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  quarter,  Mr.  Emery  mustered  his  class 
in  a  line,  and  formally  took  the  arm  of  young 
Webster,  and  conducted  him  to  the  head  of  the 
class,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  this  was  his 
proper  position.  Cheered  by  this  triumph,  Daniel 
applied  himself  with  new  diligence.  After  the 
review  at  the  end  of  the  second  quarter,  when  the 
class  was  again  mustered  for  the  summing  up,  Mr. 
Emery  said, 

"  Daniel  Webster,  gather  up  your  books,  and 
take  down  your  cap." 

Strangely  puzzled  to  know  what  this  could 
mean,  and  fearing  that  he  was  to  be  expelled,  the 
lad  silently  obeyed. 

"  Now,  sir,  you  will  please  report  yourself  to 
the  teacher  of  the  first  class ;  and  you,  young 
gentlemen,  will  take  an  affectionate  leave  of  your 
classmate,  for  you  will  never  see  him  again." 

Such  was  the  mode  in  which  he  had  distanced 
those  who  had  affected  to  despise  him,  and  pre- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  55 

sumed  upon  their  better  dress  and  fuller  pockets, 
to  tease  the  backwoods  boy. 

It  will  be  readily  supposed  that  such  progress, 
and  in  so  short  a  period,  could  only  have  been 
accomplished  by  diligent  study.  The  qualification 
of  young  Webster  for  a  schoolmaster  was  still  the 
leading  object  of  his  studies ;  and  Latin  was  pur- 
sued as  a  secondary  branch.  The  English  branches, 
such  as  would  be  needed  for  the  instruction  of  a 
country  school,  received  his  chief  attention.  Col. 
Webster's  limited  means  made  it  necessary  that 
this  object  should  be  pursued  with  the  strictest 
economy ;  his  whole  estate  being  worth  less  than 
three  thousand  dollars.  To  prosecute  his  studies 
at  a  less  expense,  Daniel  was  removed  from 
Exeter,  and  placed  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  Wood,  of  Boscawen,  were  board  and 
tuition  were  given  him  for  one  dollar  per  week. 

But,  in  the  interim  between  leaving  Exeter  and 
going  to  Boscawen,  young  Daniel,  now  in  his  six- 
teenth year,  had  an  opportunity  to  show  how  far 
his  education  to  that  date  could  be  made  available. 
While  he  continued  his  own  studies  at  home,  a 
class  was  collected  for  him  to  teach,  few,  if  any, 
being  younger  than  he,  and  some  of  them  his 
seniors.     He  was  found  fully  competent,  and  the 


5G  LIFE    OF 

proceeds  of  this  school  no  doubt  were  applied  to 
the  relief  of  his  father  in  bearing  the  expenses  of 
his  education.  Many  a  distinguished  man  in  New 
England  has  "worked  his  way"  in  the  same  mode; 
and  it  has  proved  a  most  excellent  preparation  for 
after  life ;  teaching  them  practically  the  cost  and 
the  value  of  their  education. 

The  impression  which  Daniel  made  upon  Dr. 
Abbott,  at  Exeter,  was  not  lost,  although  he  was 
removed  from  that  institution.  Dr.  Abbott  was 
an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Wood,  and  they  had  an 
interchange  of  opinions  upon  the  rare  talents 
which  the  lad  had  exhibited.  Dr.  Wood  was  one 
of  the  trustees  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  it  was 
upon  his  earnest  recommendation  that  Daniel 
should  be  fitted  for  that  institution,  that  his  father 
consented.  Dr.  Wood  proposed  to  attend  to  the 
preparatory  studies  of  the  lad ;  and  it  was  this 
which  determined  the  farther  progress  of  Daniel. 
Up  to  this  time  the  original  purpose  only  had  been 
entertained  —  to  educate  a  county  schoolmaster 
Dr.  Wood  had  experience  and  discrimination.  He 
resided  in  Boscawen,  beloved  and  respected,  over 
half  a  century ;  and,  during  that  period,  person- 
ally instructed  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  pupils  in 
his  own  house.     Of  these,  one  hundred  and  five 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  57 

entered  college.  About  one-third  of  Dr.  Wood's 
pupils  became  clergymen,  twenty  took  up  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law,  and  a  few  graduated  as  physi- 
cians. Among  his  pupils,  Dr.  Wood  had  the 
nonest  pride  to  see  many  of  the  leading  men  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  some  who  have  achieved  a 
national  reputation. 

While  on  his  way  to  Boscawen  with  his  father, 
to  take  his  place  in  the  household  of  Dr.  Wood, 
Daniel  was  first  apprised  of  the  conclusion  which 
his  father  and  his  teachers  had  reached  concerning 
him.  The  old-fashioned  mode  of  treating  chil- 
dren,—  and  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the 
modern  is  far  from  being  in  all  respects  an  im- 
provement, —  kept  the  will  and  purposes  of  the 
boy  in  abeyance  to  the  authority  of  the  parents. 
So,  while  Drs.  Wood  and  Abbott  had  consulted 
and  advised,  and  Colonel  Webster  had  consented, 
Daniel's  mind  was  undisturbed  by  any  speculation 
upon  the  future. 

The  advantages  of  a  college  education  were 
above  the  highest  dreams  of  the  lad.  His  emo- 
tions, when  the  intention  of  his  father  were  com- 
municated to  him,  exceeded  his  power  of  expres- 
sion. While  he  eagerly  assented,  and  felt,  to  use 
his  own  words,  "  as  much  exultation  one  moment 


58  LIFE    OF 

as  ever  was  felt  by  a  Roman  Consul,  to  whom  a 
triumph  had  been  decreed,"  in  the  next  he  was 
unmanned  by  his  feelings.  "  I  remember,"  he 
once  said,  "  the  very  hill  which  we  were  ascending, 
through  deep  snows,  in  a  New  England  sleigh, 
when  my  father  made  known  this  promise  to  me. 
I  could  not  speak.  How  could  he,  I  thought,  with 
so  large  a  family,  and  in  such  narrow  circum- 
stances, think  of  incurring  so  great  an  expense 
for  me  ?  A  warm  glow  ran  all  over  me,  and  I 
laid  my  head  on  my  father's  shoulder  and  wept." 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  59 


CHAPTER   III. 


Virgil  and  Cicero  —  Don  Quixote  —  Grotius  and  Puffendorf — A 
long  Recitation  —  Daniel  a  poor  Harvester  —  A  new  Impetus  to 
his  Studies  —  Advantages  of  Education  in  the  Olden  Time  — 
The  Journey  to  Hanover — The  true  blue  Suit — Storm  and  Delay 
—  Arrival  at  Hanover  —  Making  Toilet  in  Fast  Colors  —  Manly 
Appearance,  in  Spite  of  Disadvantages — Daniel  enters  as  Fresh- 
man— His  Habits  while  at  Dartmouth  —  His  Manner  of  Compo- 
sition— Fondness  for  Out-door  Exercise — Apostrophes  to  the  Cod 
and  the  Trout — Mr.  Webster  and  the  Farmer — Mr.  Webster  and 
the  Quails  —  His  First  Trout. 


Daniel  Webster  did  not  commence  his  prepa- 
ration for  College  like  a  lad  who  could  go  through 
it  as  a  routine  duty,  occupying  the  time  of  an 
established  course,  and  pursuing  it  at  his  leisure. 
It  was  all  important  that  he  should  reduce  the 
expense  of  his  education,  by  shortening  the  time 
employed  in  acquiring  it.  He  entered  Dr.  Wood's 
family  at  the  beginning  of  March,  1797;  and,  in 
August  of  the  same  year  entered  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege. The  good  use  of  his  limited  opportunities, 
which  he  had  already  made,  prepared  him  for  this 


60  LIFE    OF 

very  brief  course.  And  yet,  though  Daniel 
Webster  had  the  strongest  inducements  to  exer- 
tion, and  possessed  wonderful  natural  powers,  we 
are  not  to  suppose  that  the  preparation  made  in 
so  very  short  a  period  was  anything  like  thorough. 
Daniel  had  already  some  acquaintance  with  the 
rudiments  of  the  Latin  language,  and  he  had, 
moreover,  a  fondness  for  it.  He  had  neither  time 
nor  money  to  expend  on  things  not  absolutely  ne- 
cessary, and  his  preparation  in  Greek  was  barely 
sufficient  to  fulfil  the  requirements  of  the  college, 
upon  admission.  He  gave  only  two  months  to 
this  language ;  and  this  imperfect  preparation  he 
always  regretted.  In  college  it  was  always  a  task 
rather  than  an  intellectual  pleasure  ;  and,  as  lately 
as  the  year  before  his  death,  he  expressed  his  re- 
gret that  he  had  not  pursued  the  Greek  language, 
till  he  could  read  and  understand  Demosthenes  in 
his  own  tongue.  What  Daniel  Webster  was  com- 
pelled to  forego,  by  want  of  opportunity,  should 
not  be  neglected  by  those  who  have  time  and 
means.  The  deficiency  that  he  acknowledged, 
would  be  more  apparent  in  a  man  of  less  natural 
capacity. 

The  Latin  language  was  his  delight.     He  read 
the  entire  iEneid  as  a  pleasant  occupation,  long 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  61 

before  he  was  called  to  recite  it,  in  the  course  of 
instruction.  When  he  entered  the  class  of  young 
men  who  were  preparing  for  college  with  Dr. 
Wood,  he  found  them  reviewing  Cicero's  orations. 
Daniel  had  never  read  them ;  but  he  commenced, 
and  kept  pace  with  his  classmates ;  and  he  has 
been  heard  to  say  that  no  task  was  so  easily  ac- 
complished by  him  as  the  reading  of  Cicero.  Pro- 
bably the  "Social  Library"  had  rendered  him 
familiar  with  the  history  and  themes  of  the  Latin 
orator;  and  he  could  enter  with  understanding 
into  his  thoughts,  and  appreciate  his  argument. 
At  Boscawen  he  found  another  "  Social  Library ; " 
and  in  this  he  sought  relaxation  from  his  severer 
studies.  It  was  his  rule  to  work  with  all  his  heart 
and  mind  while  at  work,  and  Avhen  he  sought 
relief  to  abandon  himself  to  it.  At  Boscawen  he 
met,  for  the  first  time,  an  English  translation  of 
Don  Quixote.  He  bears  the  same  testimony  to 
the  interest  of  this  work,  that  other  men  of  mind 
have  done.  "  I  began  to  read  it,"  he  says,  "  and 
it  is  literally  true  that  I  never  closed  my  eyes 
until  I  had  finished  it ;  nor  did  I  lay  it  down  any 
time  for  five  minutes ;  so  great  was  the  power  of 
this  extraordinary  book  upon  my  imagination." 
But  his  imagination  was  not  alone  consulted  io 

6 


G2  LIFE     OF 

bis  leisure;  for,  besides  Virgil  and  Cicero,  which 
he  read  with  his  tutor,  and  other  classics  which 
he  looked  over  under  the  same  direction,  he  read, 
in  the  original,  two  large  works  of  Grotius  and 
Puflendorf. 

With  Daniel  Webster's  residence  at  Dr.  Wood's 
an  anecdote  is  connected,  which  implies  a  good 
reproof  of  those  who  would  neglect  study  for 
amusement,  and  cite  his  example  as  their  apology. 
Mr.  Webster  had  a  very  retentive  memory,  and 
could,  in  a  few  moments,  commit  what  it  cost 
others  hours  of  labor  to  accomplish.  This  faculty 
in  memorising  made  him  appear  negligent,  to  the 
superficial  observer,  wdio  measured  study  by  the 
time  occupied,  rather  than  by  the  results  obtained. 
His  favorite  recreations  were  walks  with  his  gun 
and  his  rod.  His  preceptor  once  hinted  to  him, 
that  the  spending  of  so  much  time  in  rambling 
might  have  an  injurious  influence  upon  the  habits 
of  the  other  boys.  He  did  not  complain  that  his 
task  was  neglected,  nor  that  he  was  unprepared 
for  his  recitations. 

The  sensitive  lad  could  not  end  ire  any  suspi- 
cion that  he  neglected  his  duties  He  applied 
himself  instantly  to  Virgil,  and  spent  the  entire 
night  at  his  self-imposed  task.    The  next  morning 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  G3 

he  read  his  hundred  lines  without  tripping  or 
mistake.  Dr.  Wood  expressed  his  approbation, 
and  prepared  to  leave,  as  he  had  an  engagement, 
of  which,  by  the  way,  Daniel  was  aware.  "  I  can 
recite  a  few  more  lines,"  said  the  lad.  "  Well,  let 
us  have  them,"  said  the  Doctor ;  and  a  hundred 
more  were  read.  Breakfast  was  repeatedly  an- 
nounced, and  the  Doctor,  impatient  to  go,  asked 
how  much  farther  he  could  read.  "  To  the  end 
of  the  Twelfth  Book,"  was  the  reply.  The  Doctor 
complimented  him  upon  his  recitation,  but  begged 
to  be  excused  from  so  long  a  session.  "  You  may 
have  the  whole  day,  Dan,  for  pigeon-shooting," 
said  his  tutor,  when  retiring.  But  the  conscien- 
tious lad  never  gave  the  Doctor  an  opportunity  to 
reprove  him  again,  and  avoided  even  the  appear- 
ance of  neglect,  by  strictly  keeping  his  study 
hours. 

While  Daniel  was  studying  with  Dr.  Wood,  his 
father  sent  for  him  to  come  home,  and  assist  for  a 
few  days  in  harvesting.  He  packed  up  his  bundle 
of  clothes  and  answered  the  summons.  On  the 
next  morning  he  went  to  work  in  the  fields,  while 
the  father  visited  a  neighboring  town  upon  busi- 
ness. His  slendei  limbs  proved  unequal  to  the 
labor,  in  which  he  probably  over-exerted  himself. 


64  LIFE     OF 

and  he  returned  to  the  house  before  noon  with 
blisterel  hands  Ills  mother  readily  excused  him 
from  farther  labor.  An  hour  after  dinner,  how- 
ever, found  Daniel  so  much  refreshed,  that  he  put 
the  old  family  horse  in  harness,  and,  placing  his 
sisters  in  a  wagon,  drove  to  a  famous  hill,  where 
he,  boy-like,  worked  harder  in  running  than  lie 
could  have  done  in  the  hay-field.  His  father 
laughed  upon  hearing  from  Daniel  and  his  mother 
the  report  of  the  day's  work ;  and  the  next 
morning  handed  Daniel  his  bundle  of  clothes,  and, 
with  a  smile,  pointed  towards  Boscawen.  The  boy 
walked  off,  and,  as  he  left  the  house,  his  old 
friend,  Thompson,  asked,  "  Where,  now,  Dan  ?" 
"  Back  to  school,  sir,"  said  the  boy.  "  I  thought 
it  would  be  so,"  said  the  other,  with  a  quiet  laugh  : 
and  the  boy  walked  back  to  his  preceptor.  Dr. 
Wood,  who  had  probably  regretted  the  harvest 
excursion  as  lost  time,  received  him  with  a  cordial 
greeting,  and  told  him  that,  with  hard  study,  he 
might  enter  Dartmouth  College  at  the  next  com- 
mencement. At  this  time  Daniel  did  not  even 
know  the  Greek  Alphabet;  but,  with  the  encou- 
ragement of  his  tutor,  and  characteristic  energy, 
he  applied  himself  to  the  work,  and  accomplished 
it.     His  fatter  had  told  him  that  he  should  go  to 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  65 

college,  "if  he  was  compelled  to  sell  every  acre 
of  land  to  pay  the  expense." 

Daniel  appreciated  the  sacrifice,  and  looked  for- 
ward with  high  expectations  to  the  privilege. 
Now,  by  the  increase  of  opportunities,  and  the 
high  improvement,  in  cities  and  large  towns  espe- 
cially, of  public  schools,  education  has  become  a 
far  different  matter.  There  is  much  less  differ- 
ence, now,  between  the  acquirements  of  the  colle- 
gian and  the  information  of  those  who  have  not 
the  privilege  of  academic  education,  than  there 
was  in  the  days  of  Daniel's  boyhood.  From  the 
common  school  to  the  college  was  a  long  remove. 
The  college  graduate  was  a  man  distinctly  marked, 
because  few  lads  commenced  such  higher  branches 
as  are  now  included  in  our  public-school  courses, 
except  with  a  view  to  enter  the  learned  professions. 
Edward  Everett,  in  his  Memoir  of  Webster,  has 
the  following  remarks  upon  the  subject : 

"  In  truth,  a  college  education  was  a  far  different 
affair  fifty  years  ago  from  what  it  has  since 
become,  by  the  multiplication  of  collegiate  insti- 
tutions, and  the  establishment  of  public  funds  in 
aid  of  those  who  need  assistance.  It  constituted 
a  person  at  once  a  member  of  an  intellectual  aris- 
tocracy     In  many  cases  it  really  conferred  quali* 

6* 


06*  LIFE     OF 

fications,  and  in  all  was  supposed  to  do  so,  without 
which  professional  and  public  life  could  not  be 
entered  upon  with  any  hope  of  success.  In  New 
England,  at  that  time,  it  was  not  a  common  occur- 
rence that  any  one  attained  a  respectable  position 
in  either  of  the  professions,  without  this  advantage. 
In  selecting  the  members  of  the  family  who  should 
enjoy  the  privilege,  the  choice  not  unfrequently 
fell  upon  the  son  whose  slender  frame  and  early 
indications  of  disease,  unfitted  him  for  the  la- 
borious life  of  our  New  England  yeomanry. 

While  Daniel  Webster  was  preparing  to  enter 
college,  his  friend,  Dr.  Wood,  who  was  a  Trustee 
of  Dartmouth,  was  preparing  the  Faculty  to  re- 
ceive him.  The  Doctor  went  to  them  personally 
to  recommend  Daniel,  "  not  so  much  for  what  he 
had  learned,  as  for  what"  he  told  them,  "he  could 
learn,  if  he  had  an  opportunity."  Mr.  Thompson 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
their  joint  influence,  with  that  of  Dr.  Abbott,  and 
the  respect  in  which  Mr.  Webster's  father  was 
held,  procured  the  application  of  the  young  man 
a  respectful  consideration,  and  predisposed  his 
examiners  to  be  lenient. 

It  is  noticeable  how  much  the  self-reliance  of 
Daniel  Webstei  had  been  increased    by  success, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  67 

and  by  the  knowledge  of  what  he  could  effect  if 
he  bent  his  energies  to  the  work.  He  saw  the 
young  gentlemen  at  Dr.  Wood's,  who  were  to  enter 
with  him  at  college,  fully  prepared,  and  leisurely 
reviewing  the  books  which  he  was  first  reading, 
with  all  the  disadvantages  of  haste  and  want  of 
time.  Nevertheless,  he  persevered  in  his  original 
intention. 

The  incidents  of  his  journey  to  Dartmouth  are 
among  the  most  interesting  passages  of  his  boy 
life;  and  we  dwell  upon  such,  because  it  is  for 
youth  we  are  writing.  The  details  of  the  events 
of  the  manhood  of  such  men  as  Webster  cannot 
be  compressed  within  our  space.  And,  in  the 
larger  and  more  elaborate  works,  which  are  de- 
voted to  the  public  life  and  services  of  statesmen, 
the  particulars  which  we  seek  to  preserve  are 
passed  over. 

Daniel  Webster's  first  Dartmouth  suit  was  true 
blue,  domestic  manufacture,  coat,  vest,  and  panta- 
loons. The  writer  of  this  memoir  remembers  that 
homespun  manufacture  well — literally  redolent  of 
the  substances  which  gave  it  its  hue,  —  stealing 
and  giving  color  as  well  as  odors,  for,  where  the 
perspiration  oozed  from  the  skin,  the  colors  struck 
in.     Those,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  were 


68  LIFE    OF 

not  the  days  of  public  conveyances.  Daniel  set 
out  from  home  on  horseback,  his  books  and  ward- 
robe packed  in  saddle-bags.  Hardly  had  he  left 
the  house  when  a  furious  storm  burst  upon  the 
traveller.  It  continued  two  days,  and  swelled  the 
mountain  streams,  which  he  had  to  pass,  to  tor- 
rents, washing  roads,  and  carrying  away  bridges. 
The  delays  which  this  inopportune  tempest  caused, 
protracted  his  journey,  and,  on  his  arrival,  he  had 
no  time  to  lose.  The  Faculty  was  in  session  for 
the  examination  of  candidates,  and  his  presence 
was  required  immediately. 

Professor  Shurtleff,  now  one  of  the  Faculty  of 
Amherst  College,  entered  the  institution  at  the 
same  time,  as  a  student.  He  says :  "  I  put  up, 
with  others,  at  what  is  now  called  the  Olcott 
House,  which  was  then  a  tavern.  We  were  con- 
ducted to  a  chamber  where  we  might  brush  our 
clothes,  and  make  ready  for  examination.  A 
young  man,  a  stranger  to  us  all,  was  soon  ushered 
into  the  room.  Similarity  of  object  rendered  the 
ordinary  forms  of  introduction  needless.  We 
learned  that  his  name  was  Webster;  also  where 
he  had  studied,  and  how  much  Latin  and  Greek 
he  had  read,  which,  I  think,  was  just  to  the  limit 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  69 

prescribed  by  the  law  at  that  period,  and  which 
was  very  much  below  the  present  requisition. 

Daniel  found,  on  attempting  his  toilet,  that  the 
fast  colors  of  his  new  suit  were  fast  in  discharging 
from  their  proper  place,  and  no  less  fast  in  adhering 
where  they  were  not  desired.  He  was  blue 
throughout — linen  and  skin,  and  all.  He  improved 
his  plight  as  well  as  he  could,  but  after  all  his 
efforts,  he  says  of  himself,  that  he  was  not  only 
"black  Dan,  but  blue  Dan."  He  stated  what  op- 
portunities he  had  had,  what  time  he  had  spent 
in  preparation,  and  what  books  he  had  read,  and 
recounted  his  wayside  disaster.  "  Thus,  you  see 
me,"  he  said,  "  as  I  am ;  if  not  entitled  to  your 
approbation,  at  least  to  your  sympathy."  The 
diffident  boy  among  boys,  could  hold  up  his  head 
before  men.  He  answered  the  questions  addressed 
to  him  without  embarrassment,  and  with  full  pos- 
session and  command  of  his  resources.  Like  many 
other  lads  of  nervous  sensibility,  he  found  what 
he  had  feared  as  a  fiery  ordeal,  a  much  less  severe 
trial  than  he  expected,  and  was  entered  as  a 
Freshman  at  Dartmouth  College. 

Hon.  John  Wheelock,  LL.  D.,  was  President 
of  Dartmouth  College  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Webster's 
entrance.      Hon.  Bezaleel  Woodward,    and    Rev. 


70  LIFE     OF 

John  Smith,  D.  D.,  were  among  the  Professors, 
These  gentlemen,  and  particularly  the  latter,  were 
so  much  impressed  with  his  character  and  talents, 
that  his  Dartmouth  experience  proved  a  good  re- 
commendation to  his  further  progress,  as  we  shall 
presently  see.  Professor  Shurtleff,  whom  we  have 
already  quoted,  thus  bears  testimony  to  Mr.  Web- 
Bter's  habits  while  at  Dartmouth  : 

"  Mr.  Webster,  while  in  college,  was  remarkable 
for  his  steady  habits,  his  intense  application  to 
study,  and  his  punctual  attendance  upon  all  the 
prescribed  exercises.  I  know  not  that  he  was  ab- 
sent from  a  recitation,  or  from  morning  and  evening 
prayers  in  the  chapel,  or  from  public  worship  on 
the  Sabbath ;  and  I  doubt  if  ever  a  smile  was  seen 
upon  his  face  during  any  religious  exercise.  He 
was  always  in  his  place,  and  with  a  decorum 
suited  to  it.  He  had  no  collision  with  any  one, 
nor  appeared  to  enter  into  the  concerns  of  others, 
but  emphatically  minded  7iis  own  business.  But, 
as  steady  as  the  sun,  he  pursued  with  intense  ap- 
plication the  great  object  for  which  he  came  to 
college.  This,  I  conceive,  was  the  secret  of  his 
popularity  in  college,  and  his  success  in  subsequent 
life." 

Another   authority,  the  writer  of  a  paper  ill 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  71 

Putnam's  Monthly,  speaks  as  follows  respecting 
Mr.  Webster's  career  in  college  :  "  It  has  been  so 
commonly  reported  about  our  colleges  that  Wel>- 
ster  was  not  a  laborious,  student,  that  many  gen- 
tlemen who  have  written  eulogies  upon  the  illus- 
trious statesman  and  orator,  have  felt  bound  to 
apologize  for  him  as  a  scholar.  This  is  all  wrong. 
His  early  life  was  as  strongly  characterized  by 
those  homely  virtues,  industry,  perseverance,  and 
punctuality,  as  his  later  career.  It  may  safely  be 
questioned  whether  any  undergraduate  of  any  of 
our  New  England  Colleges  ever  left  behind  him 
so  many  written  and  printed  proofs  of  his  talents 
and  application,  as  Mr.  Webster.  He  always 
scorned  the  imputation  of  idleness.  When  in- 
formed that  such  a  tradition  prevailed  among  stu- 
dents, he  exclaimed,  '  What  fools  they  must  be,  to 
suppose  that  a  man  could  make  anything  of  him- 
self without  hard  study !'  He  regarded  every  hour 
of  his  student  life  as  sacred  to  study  and  reflection  ; 
that  his  first  object  was  a  thorough  mastery  of  his 
daily  tasks,  and  his  next  purpose  was,  to  store  his 
mind  with  useful  knowledge.  His  solitary  wan- 
derings were  devoted  to  reflection,  and  frequently 
to  the  composition  of  his  themes;  his  social  inter- 


72  LIFE     OF 

course  was  always  rendered  profitable  by  literary 
conversation." 

The  classmates  of  Mr.  Webster,  quoted  by  the 
last-mentioned  writer,  thus  speak  of  his  college 
life  :  "  His  habits  were  good,  lie  had  the  highest 
sense  of  honor  and  integrity.  He  was  sure  to 
understand  the  subject  of  his  recitation ;  some- 
times, I  used  to  think,  in  a  more  extended  and 
comprehensive  sense  than  his  teacher.  He  never 
liked  to  be  confined  to  small  technicalities  or 
narrow  views,  but  seemed  to  possess  an  intuitive 
knowledge  of  whatever  subject  he  was  considering. 
He  did  not  find  it  necessary,  as  was  the  case  with 
most  of  us,  to  sit  down  to  hard  work  three  or  four 
hours,  to  make  himself  master  of  his  lesson,  but 
seemed  to  comprehend  it  in  a  larger  view,  and 
would,  sometimes,  procure  other  books  on  the 
same  subject,  for  further  examination,  and  employ 
hours  in  close  thought,  either  in  his  room  or  in  his 
walks,  which  would  enlarge  his  views,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  might,  with  some,  give  him  the  cha- 
racter of  not  being  a  close  student. 

"  His  great  powers  of  memory  he  turned  to  good 
account,  both  in  retaining  the  thoughts  of  others, 
and  in  fixing  the  results  of  his  own  reflections. 
He  was  accustomed  to  arrange  his  thoughts  for 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  id 

debates  and  declamations  in  his  solitary  i ambles 
upon  the  borders  of  neighboring  brooks,  angling 
for  trout,  or  scouring  the  surrounding  forests  in 
quest  of  game.  When  his  thoughts  were  once 
arranged  in  his  mind,  the  business  of  writing  was 
merely  mechanical.  Amusement  and  study  were 
so  strangely  wedded,  that  careless  observers  mis- 
took the  profound  thinker  for  a  heedless  trifier. 
lie  composed  his  college  themes  at  his  leisure,  and 
ivrote  them  just  before  they  were  due.  Accord- 
ingly, he  was  often  known  to  commence  the 
writing  of  a  public  declamation  after  dinner, 
which  he  was  to  speak  at  two  o'clock  the  same 
day.  The  New  Hampshire  hour  for  dinner,  fifty 
years  ago,  as  it  still  is  in  many  rural  districts,  was 
meridian.  In  one  instance,  while  writing,  a  sudden 
flaw  of  wind  took  away  his  paper  through  the 
open  window,  and  it  was  last  seen  flying  over  the 
meeting-house.  He  appeared  upon  the  stage,  not- 
withstanding his  loss,  and  spoke  with  his  usual 
fluency  and  eloquence. 

General  Lyman  records  a  conversation  with  a 
lady  who  resided  in  Hanover  when  Mr.  Webster 
was  at  Dartmouth.  She  was  somewhat  younger 
than  he,  and,  among  the  memories  of  her  girlhood, 
are  recollections  of  Daniel  Webster,  of  whom  her 

7 


74  LIFE     OF 

brother  was  a  classmate.  She  says  that  Mr. 
Webster  was  of  slight  form,  and  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  person  of  feeble  constitution.  He  was 
a  brunette  in  complexion ;  his  hair  was  black  as 
jet,  and,  when  turned  back,  displayed  a  forehead 
which  always  excited  great  admiration.  His  dark 
eyes  shone  with  extraordinary  brilliancy.  In  his 
youth,  among  other  soubriquets,  Mr.  Webster  had 
that  of  "All  Eyes."  With  this  delicacy  of  consti- 
tution, we  may  readily  suppose  that  the  out-door 
recreations,  invigorating  yet  not  violent,  in  which 
Mr.  Webster  indulged,  were  as  necessary  to  the 
health  of  his  body  as  to  the  strength  of  his  mind. 
Probably,  to  them,  and  to  his  habit  of  early  rising, 
and  devoting  the  morning  to  study,  Mr.  Webster 
owed  that  renovation  of  his  physical  strength, 
which  made  him  in  after  years  as  remarkable  for 
his  iron  constitution,  as  in  youth  he  had  been  for 
an  opposite  appearance.  He  was  quite  an  adroit 
swimmer  and  skater,  and  a  very  good  marksman. 
In  the  pursuit  of  anything  he  was  an  enthusiast. 
The  brooks  on  his  father's  farm  were,  in  those 
early  days,  famous  for  trout,  and  young  Daniel 
knew  all  their  haunts  and  habits.  With  hia 
fishing-rods,  cut  from  the  bushes,  and  his  horse- 
hair lines,  of  his  own  manufacture,  he  was  ready, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  75 

at  3very  proper  moment  of  leisure,  while  at  Lome, 
in  college,  and  even  to  the  last  days  of  his  life,  to 
follow  the  streams,  and  take  the  fish  which  can 
only  be  captured  by  skill  and  patience. 

By  the  side  of  the  brook  many  of  his  college 
themes  were  composed.  In  the  solitude  of  the 
forest,  or  the  trout  run,  he  arranged  his  legal  argu- 
ments. On  the  day  preceding  that  on  which  he 
was  to  deliver  the  address  of  welcome  to  General 
Lafayette,  in  Boston,  in  1825,  Mr.  Webster  was 
out  rod-fishing  in  his  yacht.  The  sport  was  not 
good,  and  the  party  were  about  giving  it  up  in 
despair,  when  Mr.  Webster  hooked  a  large  cod, 
and,  just  as  its  nose  appeared  above  water,  he  ex- 
claimed, in  a  loud  and  pompous  voice,  "  Welcome ! 
all  hail !  and  thrice  welcome,  citizen  of  two  hemi- 
spheres ! "  We  may  imagine  the  amazement  of 
the  party  when,  on  the  next  day,  they  heard  these 
words  addressed  to  the  nation's  guest.  Such  inci- 
dents exhibit  what  his  thoughts  were  occupied 
with,  even  during  his  apparent  abandonment  to 
amusement. 

Another  anecdote,  of  a  similar  nature,  is  related 
respecting  Mr.  Webster's  composition  of  his  famous 
address,  delivered  on  Bunker  Hill.  It  was  arranged 
in  his  mind,  and  studied  by  the  side  of  Marshpee 


t 0  LIFE     OF 

Brook,  fishing-rod  in  hand.  As  he  landed  in 
quick  succession  a  couple  of  huge  trout,  and  trans- 
ferred them  to  his  basket,  he  thus  apostrophized 
them,  "  Venerable  men !  you  have  come  down  to. 
us  from  a  former  generation.  Heaven  has  boun- 
teously lengthened  out  your  lives,  that  you  might 
behold  this  joyous  day."  Stern  and  thoughtful 
as  Mr.  Webster  appeared  in  public,  he  had  a  high 
zest  for  humor;  and,  that  the  above  sentence, 
which  occurs  in  his  speech,  should  have  been  first 
addressed  to  the  fishes,  while  his  mind  was  occu- 
pied with  it,  is  perfectly  in  character  with  his 
playfulness  in  private  life.  He  very  much  en- 
joyed a  harmless  joke,  even  when  he  was  the 
subject  of  it,  and  used  to  relate  the  following  with 
great  glee : 

He  went  from  Marshfield,  some  years  since,  on 
a  trouting  expedition  to  Sandwich.  Coming  to  a 
fine  stream,  he  stepped  from  his  wagon,  and 
meeting  the  owner  of  the  farm,  the  usual  saluta- 
tions passed.  Mr.  Webster  inquired  if  there  were 
any  trout  in  the  stream. 

"  Well,"  said  the  farmer,  "  some  people  fish  here, 
but  I  don't  know  what  they  do  get." 

"  I  '11  throw  my  line  in,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "  and 
see  what  there  is." 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  77 

Mr.  Webster  walked  the  banks  of  the  stream, 
trying  his  luck,  and  the  old  farmer  followed  him. 
Mr.  Webster  soon  remarked, 

"  You  have  some  bog  on  your  farm." 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  farmer,  "  and  that  ain't  the 
worst  of  it." 

Mr.  Webster  still  continued  to  throw  his  line 
into  the  deep  pools.  After  a  silence  of  a  few 
moments,  he  said, 

"  You  have  plenty  of  briars  here." 

"Yes,"  said  the  farmer,  "and  that  ain't  the  worst 
of  it." 

Mr.  Webster  began  to  get  somewhat  discouraged. 
To  be  sweltering  in  the  heat  of  an  August  day, 
bitten  by  mosquitoes,  scratched  by  briars,  and  yet 
not  be  able  to  raise  a  single  fish,  was  too  much  for 
his  patience — dropping  his  rod,  he  remarked, 

"  I  do  not  believe  there  are  any  trout  here." 

"And  that  ain't  the  worst  of  it,"  reiterated  the 
farmer. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "I  would  like  to 
know  what  the  worst  of  it  is  ?  " 

"  There  never  was  any  here" replied  the  waggish 
farmer. 

While    Mr.  Webster,  in    1851,  was   engrossed 

with  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  as  Secretary  of 

7  * 


78  LIFE     OF 

State,  he  was  almost  in  the  daily  habit  of  fishing 
at  the  little  Falls  of  the  Potomac.  His  only  and 
constant  attendant  on  these  occasions  was  his 
Private  Secretary,  Mr.  Lanman,  whom  he  called 
for  the  purpose  at  the  early  hour  of  four,  in  the 
morning.  He  was  pleased  if  he  caught  a  few 
rock-fish  or  bass,  and  quite  contented  if  he  caught 
nothing;  for  he  enjoyed  the  fresh  air  and  exer- 
cise, and  returned  from  the  fishing-ground  before 
the  public  offices  were  opened.  Air  and  exercise 
were  his  mental  stimulus.  He  had  no  boyish 
fondness  for  taking  the  lives  of  animals,  and  never 
hesitated  to  reprove  those  who  had  this  weakness. 
Mr.  Lanman  relates  that,  while  he  was  walking 
with  Mr.  Webster  one  morning,  at  Marshfield, 
they  were  joined  by  a  Boston  gentleman.  A  flock 
of  quails  ran  across  the  road,  and  the  stranger 
worked  himself  up  into  an  intense  excitement, 
and  exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  if  I  only  had  a  gun,  I  could 
easily  kill  the  whole  flock ;  have  you  not  one  in 
your  house,  Mr.  Webster?"  Mr.  Webster  calmly 
replied  that  he  had  a  number  of  guns,  but  that  no 
man  whatsoever  was  ever  permitted  to  kill  a 
quail  or  any  other  bird,  a  rabbit  or  a  squirrel,  on 
his  property.  He  then  proceeded  to  comment  on 
the    slaughtering    propensities    of  the    American 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  79 

people,  remarking  that,  in  this  country,  there  was 
an  almost  universal  passion  for  killing  and  eating 
every  wild  animal  that  chanced  to  cross  the  path- 
way of  man ;  while  in  England  and  other  portions 
of  Europe,  these  animals  were  kindly  protected 
and  valued  for  their  companionship.  "  This,  to 
me,  is  a  great  mystery,"  said  he,  "  and,  so  far  as 
my  influence  extends,  the  birds  shall  be  protected." 
Just  at  this  moment  one  of  the  quails  mounted  a 
little  knoll  and  poured  forth  a  few  of  its  sweet 
and  peculiar  notes.  Mr.  Webster  continued, 
"  There,  does  not  that  gush  of  song  do  the  heart 
a  thousandfold  more  good  than  could  possibly  be 
derived  from  the  death  of  that  beautiful  bird  ?" 
The  stranger  thanked  Mr.  Webster  for  his  reproof, 
and  said  afterward  that  this  little  incident  had 
taught  him  to  love  the  man  whom  he  had  before 
only  admired  as  a  statesman. 

Having  gone  before  the  course  of  our  narrative, 
to  insert  in  this  place  anecdotes  of  the  latter  part 
of  Mr.  Webster's  life,  we  may  correct  the  error  by 
going  back  to  his  early  childhood,  and  showing 
who  taught  him  to  fish.  While  a  bare-footed  boy, 
in  his  fifth  year,  he  was  riding  with  his  father 
upon  the  same  horse.  "Dan!"  said  the  Colonel, 
u  how  would  you  like  to  catch  a  trout  ?"  Of  course 


80  LIFE     OF 

the  lad  could  not  but  like  such  an  achievement. 
They  dismounted,  and  the  father  cut  a  hazel-twig, 
to  which  he  affixed  a  hook  and  line,  which  he 
produced  from  his  pocket.  Turning  over  a  flat 
stone,  he  found  a  worm  for  bait,  and  told  his  son 
to  creep  upon  a  rock,  and  carefully  throw  it  to  the 
further  side  of  a  deep  pool.  The  boy  did  as  he 
was  bidden,  hooked  a  fish,  lost  his  balance,  and 
fell  into  the  water;  whence  he  was  drawn  ashore 
b}^  his  father,  still  clinging  to  his  end  of  the  line, 
while  the  fish  was  fast  to  the  other.  And  that 
was  the  wa}T  Daniel  Webster's  first  trout  was 
landed. 


DANIEL,     WEBSTER.  81 


CHAPTER   IV. 


Studies  of  the  first  two  Tears  at  Dartmouth  —  Young  "VYehster  a 
Schoolmaster  in  the  Vacations  —  His  Fondness  for  a  Scholar's 
Life — His  desire  that  his  Brother  Ezekiel  should  share  his  Pur- 
suits—  Difficulties  in  the  Way  —  The  Young  Men  pass  a  Night 
in  considering  them — Importance  of  Ezekiel's  aid  to  his  Father 
—  Daniel  introduces  the  Subject  to  the  Old  Gentleman  —  The 
Mother  called  in  to  advise — Her  prompt  Decision — Ezekiel  enters 
upon  a  Course  of  Preparation,  and  Daniel  returns  to  College  — 
Change  in  his  Costume — His  Attention,  through  Life,  to  Personal 
Neatness — Third  Year  in  College  —  Mr.  Webster  takes  high 
Rank  —  Fourth  of  July  Oration  in  1800  —  Anecdote  of  General 
Stark. 


During  the  first  year  at  college,  Mr.  Webster's 
studies  were  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  the 
rules  for  speaking  and  composition,  and  the  ele- 
ments of  mathematics.  In  the  second  year  new 
books  were  taken  in  thes«  languages,  and  logic  and 
the  higher  branches  of  mathematics  were  added. 
Greek  and  mathematics  were  not  studies  in  which 
his  mind  was  interested.  Logic,  rhetoric,  and  the 
belles-lettres,  history,  biography  and  poetry  were 
his  delight.     In  geography,  ancient  and  modern. 


32  LIFE     OF 

he  was  a  proficient.  In  the  Latin  language  he 
was,  from  the  first,  at  home.  The  dictionary  and 
grammar  were  impressed  on  his  memory,  and  he 
read  the  Latin  classics  as  a  recreation,  and  not  as 
a  task.  "  If,"  he  says,  "  at  this  early  stage  I  had 
a  desire  for  the  future,  it  was  to  write  as  Virgil 
and  Tacitus  wrote,  and  to  speak  as  Cicero  spoke." 
But,  though  a  good  scholar,  he  did  not  rank  as  the 
best  during  his  first  years  in  college.  Nor  was  it 
to  be  wondered  that  he  could  not,  under  his  disad- 
vantages, rank  with  those  who  had  entered  with 
everything  in  their  favor. 

We  have  mentioned  Mr.  Webster's  first  attempt 
at  school-teaching,  in  1797.  In  1798  he  again 
taught  in  his  college  vacation.  A  new  school- 
house  had  been  erected  in  Salisbury,  at  "  Shaw's 
Corner ; "  and  Mr.  Webster  received  for  his  second 
attempt — having  gained  one  }^ear  in  age,  and  more 
in  experience  —  six  dollars  a  month.  During  his 
first  term  of  teaching,  his  salary  was  only  four 
dollars.  Many  of  the  district  schools  in  New 
England  are  thus  taught  by  students ;  but,  during 
the  last  fifty  years,  the  salary  has  advanced  from 
this  low  standard,  which  was  the  rule  when  the 
student  preparing  for  college  was  required  to  pay 
only  one  dollar  per  week  for  board  and  tuition. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  83 

At  the  end  of  Daniel's  second  year  he  spent  a 
vacation  at  home.  With  advancement  in  his 
college  course,  and  additional  attention  bestowed 
upon  English  literature,  Mr.  Webster  was  more  in 
his  element.  Having  reached  a  breathing-place 
in  his  progress,  he  began  to  feel  more  sensibly  the 
happiness  he  enjoyed.  Professor  Sanborn  thus 
narrates  one  of  the  most  honorable  passages  in 
Daniel  Webster's  life  :  "  He  had  tasted  the  sweets 
of  literature,  and  enjoyed  the  victories  of  intel- 
lectual effort.  He  loved  the  scholar's  life.  He 
felt  keenly  for  the  condition  of  his  brother  Ezekiel, 
who  was  destined  to  remain  on  the  farm,  and 
labor  to  lift  the  mortgage  from  the  old  homestead, 
and  furnish  the  means  for  his  brother's  support. 
Ezekiel  was  a  farmer,  in  spirit  and  in  practice. 
He  led  his  laborers  in  the  field,  as  he  afterwards 
led  his  class  in  Greek.  Daniel  knew  and  appre- 
ciated his  superior  intellectual  endowments.  He 
resolved  that  his  brother  should  enjoy  the  same 
privileges  as  himself. 

"  That  night  the  two  brothers  retired  to  bed, 
but  not  to  sleep.  They  discoursed  of  their  pros- 
pects. Daniel  utterly  refused  to  enjoy  the  fruit 
of  his  brother's  labor  any  longer.  They  were 
united  in  sympathy  and  affections,  and  they  must 


84  LIFE    OP 

be  united  in  their  pursuits.  But  how  could  they 
leave  their  beloved  parents,  in  age  and  solitude, 
with  no  protector?  They  talked  and  wept,  and 
wept  and  talked  till  dawn  of  day.  They  dared 
not  broach  the  matter  to  their  father.  Finally 
Daniel  resolved  to  be  the  orator  upon  the  occasion. 
Judge  Webster  was  then  somewhat  burdened  with 
debts.  He  was  advanced  in  age,  and  had  set  his 
heart  upon  having  Ezekiel  as  his  helper.  The 
very  thought  of  separation  from  both  his  sons  was 
painful  to  him.  When  the  proposition  was  made, 
he  felt  as  did  the  Patriarch  of  old,  when  he  ex- 
claimed, 'Joseph  is  not,  and  will  ye  take  Benjamin 
away  ? ' 

"A  family  council  was  called.  The  mother's 
opinion  was  asked.  She  was  a  noble-minded 
woman.  She  was  not  blind  to  the  superior  en- 
dowments of  her  sons.  With  all  a  mother's  par- 
tiality, however,  she  did  not  over-estimate  their 
powers.  She  decided  the  matter  at  once.  Her 
reply  was,  *  I  have  lived  long  in  the  world,  and 
been  happy  in  my  children.  If  Daniel  and 
Ezekiel  will  promise  to  take  care  of  me  in  my  old 
age,  ]  will  consent  to  the  sale  of  all  our  property, 
at  once,  and  they  may  enjoy  the  benefit  of  all  that 
remains  after  our  debts  are  paid.'     This  was  a 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  85 

moment  of  intense  interest  to  all  the  parties. 
Parents  and  children  all  mingled  their  tears  to- 
gether, and  sobbed  aloud  at  the  thought  of  sepa- 
ration. The  father  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of 
his  sons  and  the  advice  of  his  wife.  Daniel  re- 
turned to  college ;  Ezekiel  took  his  little  bundle 
in  his  hand,  and  sought  on  foot  the  scene  of  his 
preparatory  studies.  He  resided,  like  his  brother 
Daniel,  at  Boscawen,  with  Dr.  Wood,  and  in  one 
year  went  through  his  preparatory  studies,  entering 
at  Dartmouth  in  1803. 

Young  Webster's  dress  and  appearance  upon 
entering  college  we  have  already  described.  The 
accomplishment  of  his  wishes  and  hopes  respecting 
his  brother  opened  a  new  era  in  his  feelings.  He 
was  more  elastic  in  spirits.  Deeming  nothing  a 
trifle  which  affected  the  estimation  in  which  others 
held  him,  and  thence  reflected  disagreeably  upon 
himself,  he  introduced  a  change  in  his  costume. 
He  remembered  the  mortification  to  which  he  was 
exposed  at  Exeter,  and,  after  the  commencement 
of  his  junior  year,  dressed  better  than  the  average 
of  his  class  —  but  not  foppishly.  Throughout  his 
life  Mr.  Webster  paid  strict  attention  to  the  pro- 
prieties of  costume.  He  considered  it  a  duty  to 
be  so  prepared  in  all  particulars,  that  those  with 


66  LIFE    OF 

whom  he  was  to  converse,  or  the  audiei.ce  which 
he  was  expected  to  address,  should  perceive  that 
he  entertained  a  proper  respect  for  them.  lie 
paid  strict  attention  to  the  lesser  as  well  as  more 
important  requirements  of  etiquette,  and  was 
always  dressed  in  a  becoming  manner.  His  favo- 
rite and  almost  uniform  costume  for  the  Senate, 
the  Bar,  or  public  meetings,  was  a  blue  coat  with 
gilt  buttons,  a  buff-colored  vest,  and  black  panta- 
loons. We  mention  these  matters  here,  because 
the  hint  for  his  attention  to  them  appears  to  have 
been  taken  by  him  from  his  early  school  expe- 
riences ;  and  because,  while  foppishness  is  ridicu- 
lous, and  expensive  clothing  is  not  desirable  or 
necessary,  cleanliness  of  person,  and  a  proper  re- 
gard to  the  customs  of  society,  are  due  to  every 
man's  regard  for  health,  and  his  respect  for  his 
friends. 

In  the  third  year  of  his  college  course,  besides 
the  languages,  Daniel  read  Natural  and  Moral 
Philosophy,  and  Rhetoric.  "  Watts  on  the  Mind" 
and  "  Locke  on  the  Conduct  of  the  Understand- 
ing," which  were  not  in  the  regular  college  course, 
he  committed  to  memory.  Besides  regular  atten- 
tion to  his  prescribed  studies,  he  improved  the 
opportunity  of  his  enlarged  access  to  books,  to 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  87 

read  whatever  was  useful  or  graceful  in  English 
literature.  As  a  classical  and  belles-lettres  scholar 
(Greek  always  excepted),  as  a  writer,  and  as  a 
debater,  he  ranked  first  in  his  class.  One  of  his 
classmates  thus  speaks  of  him :  "  The  truth  is, 
that  by  his  thorough  investigation  of  every  sub- 
ject and  every  study,  whilst  in  college,  he  rose  to 
the  very  pinnacle  of  fame ;  and,  since  he  has  left 
college,  all  that  he  has  had  to  do  was  to  sustain 
his  elevated  position ;  and  all  his  classmates  have 
been  compelled  to  look  up  high  to  see  him,  which 
I  have  always  been  proud  to  do." 

In  the  year  1800,  Daniel  being  then  eighteen 
years  old,  his  friends  and  admirers,  in  college  and 
out,  united  in  a  pressing  invitation  to  him  to  de- 
liver to  the  citizens  of  Hanover  an  oration  on  the 
Fourth  of  July.  So  much  were  the  people  pleased 
with  it,  that  they  requested  a  copy  for  publication, 
and  it  was  printed.  The  edition  of  Daniel  Web- 
ster's works,  published  under  his  eye,  does  not 
contain  it.  Undoubtedly  he  regarded  it  as  too 
crude  and  boyish  to  be  included  among  his  more 
mature  writings.  Perhaps — and  very  probably — 
he  had  not  reserved  a  copy,  and  had  nearly  for- 
gotten it.  It  was  not  among  the  subjects  of  which 
he  most  delighted  to  converse.     Delivered  over 


88  LIFE     OF 

half  a  century  ago,  while  the  wounds  of  the  Re- 
volution were  yet  fresh,  it  has  a  haughty  bitterness 
towards  Britain  which  we  do  not  find  in  Mr. 
Webster's  later  speeches.  Daniel's  father  was  an 
earnest  Federalist  —  so  much  so,  that  it  is  related 
of  him,  that  being  taken  sick  on  a  journey  while 
passing  through  a  village  noted  for  its  opposite 
political  character,  he  begged  his  physician  to 
remove  him  as  soon  as  possible  out  of  the  place. 
"  He  was  born,"  he  said,  "  a  Federalist,  had  lived 
a  Federalist,  and  could  not  die  in  any  but  a  Fede- 
ralist town !"  Young  Daniel's  allusion  to  France, 
and  his  commendation  of  the  course  of  the  then 
Executive  of  the  United  States,  the  elder  Adams, 
show  that  the  young  man  shared  in  the  political 
feelings  of  his  father.  Whatever  reasons  may 
have  operated  with  the  editors  of  Mr.  Webster's 
speeches,  to  reject  this  interesting  memorial  of  his 
youth,  its  insertion  comes  strictly  within  our  place. 
It  was  the  first  strictly  public  performance  of  the 
young  man ;  and,  making  all  proper  allowances 
for  the  circumstances  which  we  have  noted,  it  is 
not  at  all  unworthy  of  his  fame.  It  was  but  re- 
cently rescued  from  oblivion  by  General  Lyman ; 
and  we  present  it  entire,  that  our  young  readers 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  89 

may   compare   it   with   the   great   orator's    later 
speeches,  and  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

The  oration  was  preceded  by  the  usual  forms, 
the  ringing  of  bells,  firing  of  cannon,  and  marching 
in  procession.  Prayer,  an  anthem,  and  the  reading 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  opened  the 
exercises.  Those  celebrations  of  the  Fourth  in 
country  towns  were  great  affairs,  even  thirty  years 
ago.  As  the  nation  grows  older,  if  it  loses  some 
of  the  extravagance  and  boasting  spirit  of  its 
youth,  we  fear  that  it  loses  also  something  of  the 
sentiment  of  patriotism,  and  fervency  of  natural 
love  and  veneration  for  its  great  men.  Daniel,  of 
course,  did  himself  justice  in  the  delivery ;  and 
we  may  well  imagine  that  his  performance  pro- 
duced a  great  sensation.  The  pamphlet  copy  of 
it  bears  on  the  title-page  the  following  motto,  from 
Addison : 

u  Do  thou,  great  Liberty,  inspire  our  souls, 
And  make  our  lives,  in  thy  possession,  happy, 
Or  our  deaths  glorious  in  thy  just  defence." 


"  Countrymen,  Brethren,  and  Fathers  : 

"  We  are  now  assembled  to  celebrate  an  anni- 
versary, ever  to  be  held  in  dear  remembrance  by 

8* 


90  LIFE    OF 

the  sons  of  Freedom.  Nothing  less  than  the  birth 
of  a  nation  —  nothing  less  than  the  emancipation 
of  three  millions  of  people  from  the  degrading 
chains  of  foreign  dominion,  is  the  event  we  com- 
memorate. 

"  Twenty-four  years  have  now  elapsed  since 
these  United  States  first  raised  the  standard  of 
Liberty,  and  echoed  the  shouts  of  Independence. 

"  Those  of  you  who  were  then  reaping  the  iron 
harvest  of  the  martial  field,  whose  bosoms  then 
palpitated  for  the  honor  of  America,  will,  at  this 
time,  experience  a  renewal  of  all  that  fervent 
patriotism  ;  of  all  those  inscrutable  emotions  which 
then  agitated  your  breasts.  As  for  us,  who  were 
either  then  unborn,  or  not  far  enough  advanced 
beyond  the  threshold  of  existence,  to  engage  in 
the  grand  conflict  for  Liberty,  we  now  most  cor- 
dially unite  with  you,  to  greet  the  return  of  this 
joyous  anniversary,  to  welcome  the  return  of  the 
day  which  gave  us  Freedom,  and  to  hail  the  rising 
glories  of  our  country ! 

"On  occasions  like  this,  you  have  hitherto  been 
addressed  from  the  stage,  on  the  nature,  the  origin, 
and  the  expediency  of  civil  government.  The 
field  of  political  speculation  has  been  explored,  by 
persons  possessing  talents  to  which  the  speaker  of 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  91 

the  day  can  have  no  pretensions.  Declining 
therefore  a  dissertation  on  the  principles  of  civil 
polity,  you  will  indulge  me  in  slightly  sketching 
those  events  which  have  originated,  nurtured,  and 
raised  to  its  present  grandeur,  this  new  republic. 

"As  no  nation  on  the  globe  can  rival  us  in  the 
rapidity  of  our  growth  since  the  conclusion  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  so  none,  perhaps,  ever  en- 
dured greater  hardships  and  distresses  than  the 
people  of  this  country  previous  to  that  period. 
We  behold  a  feeble  band  of  colonists,  engaged  in 
the  arduous  undertaking  of  a  new  settlement  in 
the  wilds  of  North  America.  Their  civil  liberty 
being  mutilated,  and  the  enjoyment  of  their  reli- 
gious sentiments  denied  them  in  the  land  that 
gave  them  birth,  they  fled  their  country,  they 
braved  the  dangers  of  the  then  almost  unnavi- 
gated  ocean,  and  sought,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
globe,  an  asylum  from  the  iron  grasp  of  tyranny, 
and  the  more  intolerable  scourge  of  ecclesiastical 
persecution. 

"But  gloomy  indeed  was  the  prospect  when 
they  arrived  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Scat- 
tered in  detachments  along  a  coast  immensely 
extensive,  at  a  distance  of  more  than  three  thou- 
sand miles  from  their  friends  on  the  Eastern  Con- 


92  LIFE     OF 

tinent,  they  were  exposed  to  all  those  evils,  and 
encountered  or  experienced  all  those  difficulties  to 
which  human  nature  seemed  liable.  Destitute  of 
convenient  habitations,  the  inclemencies  of  the 
seasons  harassed  them,  the  midnight  beasts  of 
prey  prowled  terribly  around  them,  and  the  more 
portentous  yell  of  savage  fury  incessantly  assailed 
them.  But  the  same  undiminished  confidence  in 
the  Almighty  God  which  prompted  the  first  settlers 
of  this  county  to  forsake  the  unfriendly  climes 
of  Europe,  still  supported  them  under  all  their 
calamities,  and  inspired  them  with  fortitude  almost 
divine.  Having  a  glorious  issue  of  their  labors 
now  in  prospect,  they  cheerfully  endured  the  rigors 
of  the  climate,  pursued  the  savage  beast  in  his 
remotest  haunt,  and  stood,  undismayed,  in  the 
dismal  hour  of  Indian  battle. 

"  Scarcely  were  the  Indian  settlements  freed 
from  those  dangers  which  at  first  environed  them, 
ere  the  clashing  interests  of  France  and  Britain 
involved  them  anew  in  war.  The  Colonists  were 
now  destined  to  combat  with  well-appointed,  well- 
disciplined  troops  from  Europe ;  and  the  horrors 
of  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife  were 
again  renewed.  But  these  frowns  of  fortune,  dis- 
tressing as  they  were,  had  been  met  without  a 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  9S 

sigh,  and  endured  without  a  groan,  had  not  Great 
Britain  presumptuously  arrogated  to  herself  the 
glory  of  the  victories  achieved  by  American 
militia.  Louisburg  must  be  taken,  Canada  at- 
tacked, and  a  frontier  of  more  than  one  thousand 
miles  defended  by  untutored  yeomanry,  while  the 
honor  of  every  conquest  must  be  ascribed  to  an 
English  army. 

"But  while  England  was  thus  tyrannically 
stripping  her  colonies  of  their  well-earned  laurels, 
and  triumphantly  weaving  them  into  the  stupen- 
dous wreath  of  her  own  martial  glories,  she  was 
unwittingly  teaching  them  to  value  themselves, 
and  effectually  to  resist,  on  a  future  day,  her  un- 
just encroachments. 

il  The  pitiful  tale  of  taxation  now  commences — 
the  unhappy  quarrel  which  resulted  in  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  British  Empire  has  here  its 
origin.  England,  now  triumphant  over  the  united 
powers  of  France  and  Spain,  is  determined  to  re- 
duce to  the  condition  of  slaves  her  American 
subjects. 

"We  might  now  display  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  together  with  the  general  Congress, 
petitioning,  praying,  remonstrating,  and,  like  duti- 
ful subjects,  humbly  laying  their  grievances  before 


94  LIFE    O  F 

the  throne.  On  the  other  hand  we  could  exhibiv 
a  British  Parliament,  assiduously  devising  means 
to  subjugate  America;  disdaining  our  petitions; 
trampling  on  our  rights ;  and  menacingly  telling 
us,  in  language  not  to  be  misunderstood,  'Ye  shall 
be  slaves!'  We  could  mention  the  haughty,  ty- 
rannical, perfidious  Gage,  at  the  head  of  a  standing 
army ;  we  could  show  our  brethren,  attacked  and 
slaughtered  at  Lexington  ;  our  property  plundered 
and  destroyed  at  Concord !  Recollections  can  still 
pain  us  with  the  spiral  flames  of  burning  Charles- 
town,  the  agonizing  groans  of  aged  parents,  the 
shrieks  of  widows,  orphans  and  infants ! 

"  Indelibly  impressed  on  our  memories  still  live 
the  dismal  scenes  of  Bunker's  awful  mount,  the 
grand  theatre  of  New  England  bravery ;  where 
slaughter  stalked,  grimly  triumphant;  where  re- 
lentless Britain  saw  her  soldiers,  the  unhappy  in- 
struments of  despotism,  fallen  in  heaps  beneath 
the  nervous  arms  of  injured  freemen  ! 

"  There  the  great  Warren  fought,  and  there,  also, 
lie  fell !  Valuing  life  only  as  it  enabled  him  to 
serve  his  country,  he  freely  resigned  himself  a 
willing  martyr  in  the  cause  of  Liberty,  and  now 
he 's  encircled  in  the  arms  of  glory. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  95 

"  Peace  to  the  patriot's  shade — let  no  rude  blast 
Disturb  the  willow  that  nods  o'er  his  tomb; 
Let  orphan  tears  bedew  his  sacred  urn, 
And  Fame's  loud  trump  proclaim  the  hero's  nan,e, 
Far  as  the  circuit  of  the  sphere  extends. 

"  But,  haughty  Albion,  thy  reign  shall  soon  be 
o'er !  Thou  shalt  triumph  no  longer ;  thine  em- 
pire already  reels  and  totters;  thy  laurels  even 
now  begin  to  wither  and  thy  frame  decay.  Thou 
hast  at  length  roused  the  indignation  of  an  in- 
sulted people;  thy  oppressions  they  deem  no 
longer  tolerable. 

"  The  4th  of  July,  1776,  has  now  arrived,  and 
America,  manfully  springing  from  the  torturing 
fangs  of  the  British  Lion,  now  rises  majestic  in 
the  pride  of  her  sovereignty,  and  bids  her  eagle 
elevate  his  wings ! 

"  The  solemn  Declaration  of  Independence  is 
now  pronounced,  amidst  crowds  of  admiring  citi- 
zens, by  the  supreme  council  of  our  nation ;  and 
received  with  the  unbounded  plaudits  of  a  grateful 
people ! 

"  That  was  the  hour  when  patriotism  was 
proved  —  when  the  souls  of  men  were  tried.  It 
was  then,  ye  venerable  patriots,  it  was  then  you 
lifted  the  indignant  arm,  and  unitedly  swore  to  be 


9G  LIFE     OF 

free!  Despising  such  toys  as  subjugated  en.pircs, 
you  then  knew  no  middle  fortune  between  Liberty 
and  Death.  Firmly  relying  on  the  protection  of 
Heaven,  unwarped  in  the  resolution  you  had 
taken,  you  then,  undaunted,  met — engaged  —  de- 
feated the  gigantic  power  of  Britain,  and  rose 
triumphant  over  the  aggressions  of  your  enemies. 

"  Trenton,  Princeton,  Bennington  and  Saratoga 
were  the  successive  theatres  of  your  victories,  and 
the  utmost  bounds  of  creation  are  the  limits  of 
your  fame !  The  sacred  fire  of  freedom,  then  en- 
kindled in  your  breasts,  shall  be  perpetuated 
through  the  long  descent  of  future  ages,  and  burn, 
with  undiminished  fervor,  in  the  bosoms  of  mil- 
lions yet  unborn. 

"  Finally,  to  close  the  sanguinary  conflict,  to 
grant  to  America  the  blessings  of  an  honorable 
peace,  and  clothe  her  heroes  with  laurels,  Corn- 
wallis,  at  whose  feet  the  kings  and  princes  of  Asia 
have  since  thrown  their  diadems,  was  compelled 
to  submit  to  the  sword  of  Washington. 

"  The  great  drama  is  now  completed  :  our  Inde- 
pendence is  now  acknowledged ;  and  the  hopes  of 
our  enemies  are  blasted  forever.  Columbia  is  now 
seated  in  the  forum  of  Nations,  and  the  Empires 


DA.NIEL    "WEBSTER.  97 

of  the  world  are  amazed  at  the  bright  effulgence 
of  her  glory. 

"  Thus,  friends  and  citizens,  did  the  kind  hand 
of  over-ruling  Providence  conduct  us,  through 
toils,  fatigues,  and  dangers,  to  Independence  and 
Peace.  If  piety  be  the  rational  exercise  of  the 
human  soul,  if  religion  be  not  a  chimera,  and  if 
the  vestiges  of  heavenly  assistance  be  clearly 
traced  in  those  events  which  mark  the  annals  of 
our  nation,  it  becomes  us,  on  this  day,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  great  things  which  have  been  done  for 
us,  to  render  the  tribute  of  unfeigned  thanks  to 
that  God,  who  superintends  the  universe,  and 
holds  aloft  the  scale  that  weighs  the  destiny  of 
nations. 

"  The  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  War  did 
not  accomplish  the  entire  achievements  of  our 
countrymen.  Their  military  character  was  then, 
indeed,  established;  but  the  time  was  coming 
which  should  prove  their  practical  sagacity — their 
ability  to  govern  themselves. 

"  No  sooner  was  peace  restored  with  England, 
(the  first  grand  article  of  which  was  the  acknow- 
ledgement  of  our  Independence,)  than  the  old 
system  of  confederation,  dictated  at  first  by  neces- 
sity, and  adopted  for  the  purposes  of  the  moment, 

9 


98  LIFE     OF 

was  found  inadequate  to  the  government  of  an 
extensive  empire.  Under  a  full  conviction  of  this, 
we  then  saw  the  people  of  these  States  engaged 
in  a  transaction,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest 
approximation  towards  human  perfection  the  po- 
litical world  ever  yet  witnessed,  and  which  will, 
perhaps,  forever  stand  in  the  history  of  the  world 
without  a  parallel.  A  great  Republic,  composed 
of  different  States,  whose  interests  in  all  respects 
could  not  be  perfectly  compatible,  then  came  deli- 
berately forward,  discarded  one  system  of  govern- 
ment, and  adopted  another,  without  the  loss  of 
one  man's  blood. 

"  There  is  not  a  single  government  now  existing 
in  Europe,  which  is  not  based  in  usurpation,  and 
established,  if  established  at  all,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  thousands.  But,  in  the  adoption  of  our  present 
system  of  jurisprudence,  we  see  the  powers  neces- 
sary for  government,  voluntarily  flowing  from  the 
people,  their  only  proper  origin,  and  directed  to 
the  public  good,  their  only  proper  object. 

"  With  peculiar  propriety  we  may  now  felicitate 
ourselves  on  that  happy  form  of  mixed  govern- 
ment under  which  we  live.  The  advantages  re- 
sulting to  the  citizens  of  the  Union  are  utterly 
incalculable,  and  the  day  when  it  was  received  by 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  99 

a  majority  of  the  States  shall  stand  on  the  cata- 
logue of  American  anniversaries,  second  to  none 
but  the  birth-day  of  Independence. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  our  present 
system  of  government,  and  the  virtuous  manner 
in  which  it  has  been  administered  by  a  Washington 
and  an  Adams,  we  are  this  day  in  the  enjoyment 
of  peace,  while  war  devastates  Europe.  We  can 
now  sit  down  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  olive, 
while  her  cities  blaze,  her  streams  run  purple  with 
blood,  and  her  fields  glitter  with  a  forest  of  bayo- 
nets !  The  citizens  of  America  can  this  day 
throng  the  temples  of  Freedom,  and  renew  their 
oaths  of  fealty  to  Independence ;  while  Holland, 
our  once  sister  republic,  is  erased  from  the  cata- 
logue of  nations ;  while  Venice  is  destroyed,  Italy 
ravaged,  and  Switzerland  —  the  once  happy,  the 
once  united,  the  once  flourishing  Switzerland  — 
lies  bleeding  at  every  pore  ! 

"  No  ambitious  foe  dares  now  invade  our  country. 
No  standing  army  now  endangers  our  liberty. 
Our  commerce,  though  subject  in  some  degree  to 
the  depredations  of  the  belligerent  Powers,  is  ex- 
tended from  Pole  to  Pole;  our  Navy,  though  just 
emerging  from  non-existence,  shall  soon  vouch  for 
the   safety  of  our   merchantmen,  and   bear    the 


100  LIFE    OF 

thunder  of  Freedom  around  the  ball.  Fair  science, 
too,  holds  her  gentle  empire  amongst  us,  and 
almost  innumerable  altars  are  raised  to  her 
divinity.  Yale,  Providence  and  Harvard  now 
grace  our  land  ;  and  Dartmouth,  towering  majestic 
above  the  groves  which  encircle  her,  now  inscribes 
her  glory  on  the  register  of  fame.  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  those  oriental  stars  of  literature,  shall 
soon  be  outshone  by  the  bright  sun  of  American 
science,  which  displays  his  broad  circumference  in 
uneclipsed  radiance. 

"  Pleasing  indeed  were  it  here  to  dilate  on  the 
future  grandeur  of  America;  but  we  forbear,  and 
pause  for  a  moment  to  drop  the  tear  of  affection 
over  the  graves  of  our  departed  warriors.  Their 
names  should  be  mentioned  on  every  anniversary 
of  Independence,  that  the  youth  of  each  succes- 
sive generation  may  learn  not  to  value  life,  when 
held  in  competition  with  their  country's  safety. 

"  Wooster,  Montgomery  and  Mercer  fell  bravely 
in  battle,  and  their  ashes  are  now  entombed  on 
the  fields  that  witnessed  their  valor.  Let  their 
exertions  in  their  country's  cause  be  remembered, 
while  liberty  has  an  advocate,  and  gratitude  has 
a  place  in  the  human  heart. 

"  Greene,  the  immortal  hero  of  the  Carolinas, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  101 

has  since  gone  down  to  the  grave,  loaded  with 
honors,  and  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  country- 
men. The  courageous  Putnam  has  long  slept  with 
his  fathers ;  and  Sullivan  and  Cilley,  New  Hamp- 
shire's veteran  sons,  are  no  more  remembered 
among  the  living. 

"  With  hearts  penetrated  with  unutterable 
grief,  we  are  at  last  constrained  to  ask,  where  is 
our  Washington  ?  where  the  hero  who  led  us  to 
victory  ?  where  the  man  who  gave  us  freedom  ? 
where  is  he  who  headed  our  feeble  army,  when 
destruction  threatened  us  ?  who  came  upon  our 
enemies  like  the  storms  of  winter,  and  scattered 
them  like  leaves  before  the  Borean  blast  ?  Where, 
0,  my  country  !  is  thy  political  saviour  ?  Where, 
0,  humanity  !  thy  favorite  son  ? 

"The  solemnity  of  the  assembly,  the  lamenta- 
tions of  the  American  people  will  answer,  'Alas, 
he  is  no  more — the  mighty  is  fallen  ! '  Yes,  Ame- 
ricans, Washington  is  gone  !  He  is  now  consigned 
to  dust,  and  sleeps  in  'dull,  cold  marble.'  The 
man  who  never  felt  a  wound  but  when  it  pierced 
his  country  —  who  never  groaned  but  when  fair 
Freedom  bled — is  now  forever  silent ! 

"  Wrapped  in  the  shroud  of  death,  the  dark 
dominions  of  the  grave  long  since  received  him, 

9* 


102  LIFE    OF 

and  he  rests  in  undisturbed  repose !  Vain  were 
the  attempt  to  express  our  loss — vain  the  attempt 
to  describe  the  feelings  of  our  souls !  Though 
months  have  rolled  away  since  his  spirit  left  this 
terrestrial  orb,  and  sought  the  shining  worlds  on 
high,  yet  the  sad  event  is  still  remembered  with 
increased  sorrow.  The  hoary-headed  patriot  of 
'76  still  tells  the  mournful  story  to  the  listening 
infant,  till  the  loss  of  his  country  touches  his 
heart,  and  patriotism  fires  his  breast.  The  aged 
matron  still  laments  the  loss  of  the  man  beneath 
whose  banners  her  husband  has  fought,  or  her  son 
has  fallen.  At  the  name  of  Washington  the  sym- 
pathetic tear  still  glistens  in  the  eye  of  every 
youthful  hero.  Nor  does  the  tender  sigh  yet 
cease  to  heave  in  the  fair  bosom  of  Columbia's 
daughters. 


- 


"  Farewell,  0  Washington,  a  long  farewell ! 
Thy  country's  tears  embalm  thy  memory  j 
Thy  virtues  challenge  immortality  j 
Impressed  on  grateful  hearts  thy  name  shall  live, 
Till  dissolution's  deluge  drown  the  world  I 

"Although  we  must  feel  the  keenest  sorrow  at 
the  demise  of  our  Washington,  yet  Ave  console 
ourselves   with    the    reflection   that  his   virtuous 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  103 

compatriot,  his  worthy  successor,  the  firm,  the  wise, 
the  inflexible  Adams,  still  survives.  Elevated  by 
the  voice  of  his  country  to  the  supreme  executive 
magistracy,  he  constantly  adheres  to  her  essentia] 
interests,  and  with  steady  hand  draws  the  dis- 
guising veil  from  the  intrigues  of  foreign  enemies, 
and  the  plots  of  domestic  foes. 

"  Having  the  honor  of  America  always  in  view, 
never  fearing  when  wisdom  dictates,  to  stem  the 
impetuous  torrent  of  popular  resentment,  he 
stands  amid  the  fluctuations  of  party  and  the  ex- 
plosions of  faction,  unmoved  as  Atlas, 

"  While  storms  and  tempests  thunder  on  its  brow, 
And  oceans  break  their  billows  at  its  feet. 

"Yet  all  the  vigilance  of  our  Executive,  and  all 
the  wisdom  of  our  Congress,  have  not  been  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  country  from  being  in  some 
degree  agitated  by  the  convulsions  of  Europe, 
But  why  shall  every  quarrel  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic  interest  us  in  its  issue  ?  Why  shall 
the  rise  or  the  depression  of  every  party  there, 
produce  here  a  corresponding  vibration  ?  Was 
this  continent  designed  as  a  mere  satellite  to  the 
other?  Has  not  Nature  here  wrought  all  her 
operations  on  the  broadest  scale  ?     Where  are  the 


104  LIFE     OF 

Mississippies  and  the  Amazons,  the  AUeghanies 
and  tlie  Andes  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa?  The 
natural  superiority  of  America  clearly  indicates 
that  it  was  designed  to  be  inhabited  by  a  nobler 
race  of  men,  possessing  a  superior  form  of  govern- 
ment, superior  patriotism,  and  superior  virtues. 

"  Let  the  nations  of  the  East  vainly  waste  their 
strength  in  destroying  each  other.  Let  them  aspire 
at  conquest,  and  contend  for  dominion,  till  their 
continent  is  deluged  in  blood.  But  let  none,  how- 
ever elated  by  victory,  however  proud  of  triumph, 
ever  presume  to  intrude  on  the  neutral  position 
assumed  by  our  country. 

"  Britain,  twice  humbled  for  her  aggressions,  has 
been  taught  to  respect  us.  But  France,  once  our 
ally,  has  dared  to  insult  us !  She  has  violated  her 
treaty  obligations — she  has  depredated  on  our  com- 
merce—  she  has  abased  our  government  and 
riveted  the  chains  of  bondage  on  our  unhappy 
fellow-citizens.  Not  content  with  ravaging  and 
depopulating  the  fairest  countries  of  Europe ;  not 
yet  satisfied  with  the  contortions  of  expiring  re- 
publics, the  convulsive  throes  of  subjugated  na- 
tions, and  the  groans  of  her  own  slaughtered 
citizens  —  she  has  spouted  her  fury  across  the 
Atlantic ;  and  the  stars  and  stripes  of  the  United 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  105 

States  have  been  almost  attacked  in  our  harbors ! 
When  we  have  demanded  reparation,  she  has  told 
us,  'Give  us  your  money,  and  we  will  give  you 
peace.'  Mighty  nation  !  Magnanimous  Republic! 
Let  her  fill  her  coffers  from  those  towns  and  cities 
which  she  has  plundered,  and  grant  peace  if  she 
can  to  the  shades  of  those  millions  whose  death 
she  has  caused. 

"  But  Columbia  stoops  not  to  tyrants ;  her  spirit 
will  never  cringe  to  France ;  neither  a  supercilious, 
five-headed  Directory,  nor  the  gasconading  pilgrim 
of  Egypt,  will  ever  dictate  terms  to  sovereign 
America.  The  thunder  of  our  cannon  shall  en- 
sure the  performance  of  our  treaties,  and  fulminate 
destruction  on  Frenchmen,  till  the  ocean  is  crim- 
soned with  blood  and  gorged  with  pirates ! 

"  It  becomes  us,  on  whom  the  defence  of  our 
country  will  ere  long  devolve,  this  day  most  se- 
riously to  reflect  on  the  duties  incumbent  upon  us. 
Our  ancestors  bravely  snatched  expiring  Liberty 
from  the  grasp  of  Britain,  whose  touch  is  poison ; 
shall  we  now  consign  it  to  France,  whose  embrace 
is  death  ?  We  have  seen  our  fathers,  in  the  days 
of  our  country's  trouble,  assume  the  rough  habili- 
ments of  war,  and  seek  the  hostile  field.  Too  full 
of  sorrow  to  speak,  we  have  seen  them  wave  a 


106  LIFE     OF 

last  farewell  to  a  disconsolate,  a  woe-stung  family. 
We  have  seen  them  return,  worn  down  with  fatigue, 
and  scarred  with  wounds ;  or  we  have  seen  them, 
perhaps,  no  more.  For  us  they  fought  —  for  us 
they  bled  —  for  us  they  conquered.  Shall  we, 
their  descendants,  now  basely  disgrace  our  lineage, 
and  pusillanimously  disclaim  the  lineage  be- 
queathed to  us?  Shall  we  pronounce  the  sad 
valediction  to  freedom  and  immortal  Liberty  on 
the  altars  our  fathers  have  raised  to  her  ?  No ! 
The  response  of  the  nation  is,  '  No ! '  Let  it  be 
registered  in  the  archives  of  Heaven.  Ere  the 
religion  we  profess,  and  the  privileges  we  enjoy 
are  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  despots  and  dema- 
gogues— let  the  sons  of  Europe  be  vassals ;  let  her 
hosts  of  nations  be  a  vast  congregation  of  slaves ; 
but  let  us,  who  are  this  day  free,  whose  hearts  are 
yet  unappalled  and  whose  right  arms  are  yet 
nerved  for  war,  assemble  before  the  hallowed 
temple  of  American  Freedom,  and  swear  to  the 
God  of  our  Fathers,  to  preserve  it  secure,  or  die 
at  its  portals  ! " 

Such  was  the  oration.  If  it  pleased  his  audi- 
tory, we  may  well  imagine  with  what  delight  his 
father  pored  over  the  printed  pages  of  his  son's 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  107 

maiden  effort  —  the  father,  who,  in  his  declining 
days,  when  he  engaged  in  conversation  with  a 
stranger,  did  not  fail  to  speak  of  his  "  son  at  Dart- 
mouth." He  was  the  old  man's  idol,  and,  as  Dr. 
Alexander,  of  Princeton,  remarks,  of  that  son  "  it 
was  easy  to  see  that  he  was  proud." 

There  are  faults  in  the  style,  extravagances  to 
which  Daniel's  poetical  mind  led  him,  but  which 
he  afterwards  corrected — and  corrected  by  diligent 
labor.  There  are  prejudices,  received  at  second 
hand  from  traditionary  sources,  which  his  reading 
afterwards  modified.  And  there  are  boastful  ex- 
pressions about  the  young  Republic  of  America, 
which  a  more  mature  taste  led  him  to  abandon, 
while  he  lost  none  of  his  true  patriotism.  But 
who  can  wonder  at  such  things,  at  that  day,  and 
in  a  young  man  accustomed  to  such  encounters  as 
the  following,  which  is  related  by  Mr.  Lanman : 

"  Daniel's  father  and  General  Stark,  the  hero 
of  Bennington,  were  fast  friends  on  the  battle- 
field, and  afterwards  in  the  walks  of  civil  life. 
Professional  business,  early  in  Mr.  Webster's  career, 
called  him  to  Manchester,  the  residence  of  General 
Stark.  He  found  him  surrounded  with  friends, 
and  in  the  midst  of  convivial  enjoyment.  The 
parties  were  introduced,  and  the  General,  who  no 


108  LIFE     OF 

doubt  knew  .ill  about  the  son  from  his  old  com- 
rade in  arms,  cried  out,  'Why,  Dan  Webster, 
you're  as  black  as  your  father;  and  he  was  so 
black  that  I  never  could  tell  when  he  was  covered 
with  powder,  for  he  was  one  of  those  chaps  who 
are  always  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight ! ' " 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  109 


CHAPTER    V. 

Specimens  of  Daniel  Webster's  College  Composition  —  The  Dart- 
mouth Gazetie — Man — Essay  on  Peace — Eulogy  on  a  Classmate 
— Washington — Later  Poetry — "The  Memory  of  the  Heart"— 
Mr.  Webster  an  Improvisator  —  Mr.  Webster  and  the  Child  — 
Commencement  Exercises  —  Mr.  Webster's  Disappointment  — 
Professor  Woodward's  Opinion  of  Mr.  Webster  —  The  Pupil's 
kind  Recollections — Lessons  of  Daniel  Webster's  Childhood. 

Poetry  was  a  favorite  exercise  with  Daniel 
Webster  while  in  college.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that, 
attracted  by  the  brilliant  and  fervid  style  of  Pre- 
sident Wheelock,  he  gave  stronger  indications  of 
rising  to  eminence  in  poetry,  than  in  law  or 
politics.  He  often  wrote  in  verse  for  public  clecla  • 
mation ;  and,  in  his  early  compositions,  exhibited 
great  fertility  of  imagination.  Close  study  and 
laborious  mental  discipline  tempered  down  this 
habit  of  mind,  and  made  his  style  more  terse  and 
vigorous ;  although  to  the  last,  at  proper  opportu- 
nities, he  exhibited  his  power  in  pathos  and  word- 
painting.  Some  early  specimens  of  his  poetry, 
contributed  to  the  "Dartmouth  Gazette,"  we  sub« 

10 


110  LIFE    OF 

join.  The  contents  of  this  sheet  were  furnished 
by  the  Faculty  and  students  of  the  College,  and 
there  was  no  more  frequent  contributor  than 
Daniel  Webster.  The  following  extracts  are  from 
a  poem  published  in  the  "  Gazette." 

"  When  that  grand  period  in  the  Eternal  Mind, 
Long  pre-determined,  had  arrived,  behold 
The  universe,  this  most  stupendous  mass 
Of  things,  to  instant  being  rose.     This  globe, 
For  light  and  heat  dependent  on  the  sun, 
By  power  supreme  was  then  ordained  to  roll, 
And  on  its  surface  bear  immortal  Man, 
Complete  in  bliss,  the  image  of  his  God. 
His  soul  to  gentle  harmonies  attuned, 
Th'  ungoverned  rage  of  boisterous  passions  knew  not 
Malice,  revenge,  and  hate  were  then  unknown; 
Love  held  its  empire  in  the  human  heart — 
The  voice  of  love  alone  escaped  the  lip, 
And  gladdening  Nature  echoed  back  the  strain. 
0,  happy  state  !  too  happy  to  remain  ; 
Temptation  comes,  and  man  a  victim  falls  1 
Farewell  to  peace,  farewell  to  human  bliss, 
Farewell  ye  kindred  virtues,  all  farewell ! 
Ye  flee  the  world,  and  seek  sublimer  realms. 
Passions  impetuous  now  possess  the  heart, 
And  hurry  every  gentler  feeling  thence. 

***** 
Is  it  now  asked  why  man  for  slaughter  pants, 
Raves  with  revenge,  and  with  detraction  burns  if 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  Ill 

Go  ask  of  JEtua,  why  her  thunders  roar, 
Why  her  volcanoes  smoke,  and  why  she  pours 
In  torrents  down  her  sides  the  igneous  mass 
That  hurries  men  and  cities  to  the  tomb ! 
These  but  the  effects  of  bursting  fires  within, 
Convulsions  that  are  hidden  from  our  sight, 
And  bellow  under  ground.     Just  so  in  man, 
The  love  of  conquest  and  the  lust  of  power 
Are  but  the  effects  of  passion  unsubdued. 
T'  avert  the  effects,  then  deeply  strike  the  cause, 
O'ercome  the  rage  of  passion,  and  obtain 
The  empire  over  self.     This  once  achieved, 
Impress  fair  virtue's  precepts  on  the  heart, 
Teach  to  adore  his  G-od,  and  love  his  brother; 
War  then  no  more  shall  raise  the  rude  alarm, 
Widows  and  orphans  then  shall  sigh  no  more, 
Peace  shall  return,  and  man  again  be  bless' d." 

In  perfect  accordance  with  the  sentiment  of 
bills  poetry,  is  a  prize  essay  on  peace,  written  by 
Daniel  Webster  while  in  college.  "  For  what  was 
man  created,"  he  asks,  "  but  to  cultivate  the  arts 
of  peace  and  friendship,  to  beam  charity  and  be- 
nevolence on  all  around  him,  to  improve  his  own 
mind  by  study  and  reflection,  to  serve  his  God 
with  all  the  powers  of  his  soul,  and  finally,  when 
the  days  of  his  years  are  numbered,  to  bid  adieu 
to  earthly  objects  with  a  smile,  to  close  his  eyes 
on  the  pillow  of  religious  hope,  and  sink  to  repose 


1  J  J  LITE     OF 

in  the  bosom  of  his  Maker?  Why,  then,  is  the 
object  of  our  existence  unattained  ?  Why  are  the 
fairest  countries  on  the  earth  desolated  and  de- 
populated with  the  ravages  of  war?  Why  are 
the  annals  of  the  world  crowded  with  the  details 
of  murder,  treason,  sacrilege,  and  crimes  that 
stiike  the  soul  with  horror  but  to  name  them? 
0,  corrupted  nature  !  0,  depraved  man  !  Those 
who  are  delighted  with  tales  of  bloodshed  and 
destruction  find  a  rich  repast  in  the  daily  accounts 
from  Europe,  where 

" '  Gigantic  slaughter  stalks  with  awful  strides, 
And  vengeful  fury  pours  her  copious  tides.' 

"  But,  to  the  child  of  humanity,  to  the  man  of 
true  benevolence,  it  is  a  sad  and  painful  rellection, 
that  iniquity  should  usurp  the  reign  of  justice, 
that  the  liberties  and  lives  of  millions  should  be 
sacrificed,  to  satiate  the  ambition  of  individuals, 
and  that  tyrants  should  wade  through  seas  of 
blood  to  empire  and  dominion.  War,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  is  proper,  is  just.  When  men 
take  arms  to  burst  those  chains  that  have  bound 
them  in  slavery,  to  assert  and  maintain  those  pri- 
vileges which  they  justly  claim  as  natural  rights, 
their  object  is  noble,  and  we  wish  them  success." 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  113 

As  a  specimen  of  the  poetic  style  of  Mr.  Webster's 
early  prose  writings,  we  give  the  following  extract 
from  a  eulogy  pronounced  by  him  on  a  classmate, 
who  died  in  1801.  His  name  was  Ephraim 
Simonds.  He  was  universally  beloved,  and  a 
dear  friend  of  Mr.  Webster. 

"All  of  him  that  was  mortal  now  lies  in  the 
charnels  of  yonder  cemetery.  By  the  grass  that 
now  nods  over  the  mounds  of  Sumner,  Merrill, 
and  Cook,  now  rests  a  fourth  son  of  Dartmouth, 
constituting  another  monument  of  man's  mortality. 
The  sun,  as  it  sinks  to  the  ocean,  plays  its  depart- 
ing beams  on  his  tomb,  but  they  reanimate  him 
not.  The  cold  sod  presses  on  his  bosom;  his 
hands  hang  down  in  weakness.  The  bird  of  the 
evening  shouts  a  melancholy  air  on  the  poplar, 
but  her  voice  is  stillness  to  his  ears.  While  his 
pencil  was  drawing  scenes  of  future  felicity, — 
while  his  soul  fluttered  on  the  gay  breezes  of 
hope,  —  an  unseen  hand  drew  the  curtain,  and 
shut  him  from  our  view." 

After  a  glowing  exordium,  the  orator  proceeded 
to  paint  the  virtues  of  the  deceased;  and  dwelt 
with  an  especial  earnestness  upon  his  religious 
excellence. 

"  To  his  surviving  friends,  gladdening  is  the  re- 
10  * 


114  LIFE     OF 

flection  that  he  died,  as  he  lived,  a  firm  believer 
in  the  sublime  doctrines  of  Christianity.  *  *  *  * 
Whoever  knew  him  in  life,  or  saw  him  in  death, 
will  cordially  address  this  honorable  testimony  to 
his  memory : 

" '  He  taught  us  how  to  live,  and  0,  too  high, 

The  price  of  knowledge,  taught  us  how  to  die!'" 

The  eulogy  was  published,  and  after  Mr.  Web- 
ster left  college  other  students  committed  portions 
of  it  for  declamation.  At  the  time  of  the  original 
delivery  a  large  audience  was  moved  to  tears,  and 
even  when  repeated  at  second  hand,  by  the  young 
orators,  its  effect  was  not  lost.  This  eulogy  was 
admitted  to  be  the  most  beautiful  and  finished 
performance  of  Mr.  Webster's  college  life, — unsur- 
passed in  the  traditions  of  the  college,  as  it  was 
unequalled  by  contemporary  efforts.  The  son  of 
religious  parents,  and  educated  under  religious  in- 
fluences, the  young  orator  did  not  fail  to  take  the 
occasion  to  exhibit  the  power  of  religion  to  sustain 
and  console  in  scenes  of  sorrow,  persecution,  and 
death.  Scripture  images  and  allusions  were  very 
frequently  introduced  by  Mr.  Webster  in  his 
writings  and  speeches.  The  following  apostrophe 
to  Washington  is  from  one  of  his  earliest  poems  : 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  115 

"  Ah,  Washington  !  thou  once  didst  guide  the  helm, 
And  point  each  danger  to  our  infant  realm ; 
Didst  show  the  gulf  where  Faction's  trumpets  sweep, 
And  the  big  thunders  frolic  o'er  the  deep  j 
Through  the  red  wave  didst  lead  our  bark,  nor  stood, 
Like  Moses,  on  the  other  side  the  flood. 
But  thou  art  gone — yes,  gone — and  we  deplore 
The  man,  the  Washington,  we  knew  before. 
But  when  thy  spirit  mounted  to  the  sky, 
And  scarce  beneath  thee  left  a  tearless  eye — 
Tell,  what  Elisha  then  thy  mantle  caught, 
Warmed  with  thy  virtue — with  thy  wisdom  fraught?" 

The  following  graceful  trifle  was  written  in 
1839 — forty  years  after  the  time  of  which  we  are 
writing.  It  is  entitled  "  The  Memory  of  the 
Heart." 

"  If  stores  of  dry  and  learned  lore  we  gain, 
We  keep  them  in  the  memory  of  the  brain ; 
Names,  things,  and  facts,  whate'er  we  knowledge  call, 
There  is  the  common  ledger  for  them  all ; 
And  images  on  this  cold  surface  traced 
Make  slight  impressions  and  are  soon  effaced. 

"But  we've  a  page  more  glowing  and  more  bright, 
On  which  our  friendship  and  our  love  we  write ; 
That  these  may  never  from  the  soul  depart, 
We  trust  them  to  the  memory  of  the  heart. 
There  is  no  dimming — no  effacement  here ; 
Each  new  pulsation  keeps  the  record  clear ; 
Warm,  golden  letters  all  the  tablet  fill, 
Nor  lose  their  lustre  till  the  heart  stands  still." 


116  LIFE    OF 

Mr.  Webster  possessed  a  great  and  ready  com- 
mand of  words,  and  must  have  been  a  sparkling 
contributor  to  the  recreations  of  the  literary 
society  of  which  he  was  a  member  in  Dartmouth, 
since  in  later  years  he  has  given  frequent  evi- 
dences of  his  capacity  to  trifle  elegantly,  as  well 
as  to  wield  the  ponderous  arms  of  logic  and  argu- 
ment. On  one  occasion,  while  Mr.  Webster  was 
Secretary  of  State,  a  farewell  dinner  was  given  to 
Senator  Foote,  who  had  been  elected  Governor  of 
Mississippi,  and  was  going  home  to  assume  his 
new  duties.  At  the  close  of  the  dinner,  Mr. 
Foote  addressed  Mr.  Webster  in  a  parting  speech, 
in  which  he  so  exhausted  the  language  of  felici- 
tous compliment,  that  the  company  present  were 
curious  to  know  what  Mr.  Webster  could  say  in 
answer. 

Gracefully  to  acquit  one's-self  in  such  a  dilemma, 
is  a  task  of  which  few  men  are  capable,  and  those 
who  have  least  depth  can  often  support  them- 
selves under  the  weight  of  compliment  with  more 
address  than  the  profoundest  thinkers.  Mr.  Web- 
ster slowly  rose  from  his  chair  and  answered  Mr. 
Foote,  not  in  prose,  but  in  poetry.  The  farther 
he  proceeded,  the  happier  was  he  in  his  improvi- 
sation; and  the  company  were  completely  taker. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  117 

by  surprise  at  this  new  phase  of  Mr.  Webster's 
mind.  The  long  slumbering  poetry  of  his  nature, 
extinguished  as  it  had  seemed  for  nearly  half  a 
century,  by  the  cares  of  State  and  the  labors  of 
the  law,  burst  forth  to  the  admiration  of  those 
who  had  not  suspected  that  such  a  vein  existed  in 
his  composition.  The  poetry  was  far  above  medi- 
ocrity, and  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion 
showed  that  it  must  have  been  extempore.  At 
another  time  he  was  unexpectedly  presented,  at  a 
banquet,  with  a  bouquet  of  flowers,  by  a  beautiful 
and  graceful  child.  In  a  similar  fit  of  inspiration 
he  addressed  her  in  acknowledgment,  in  a  strain 
of  prose  poetry,  abounding  with  graceful  and 
beautiful  images.  Mr.  Webster  could  also,  upon 
occasion,  trifle  in  an  amusing  style  of  composition. 
Among  his  college  exercises,  a  classmate  remem- 
bers a  composition,  every  line  of  which  ended 
in  i-o-n. 

At  the  commencement  of  Dartmouth  College, 
in  the  year  in  which  he  graduated,  Mr.  Webster's 
share  of  the  public  exercises  was  a  discourse  on 
the  then  recent  discoveries  in  chemistry,  particu- 
larly those  of  Lavoisier,  then  just  made  public 
Mr.  Webster  also  delivered  an  oration  before  "  The 
United    Fraternity,"    upon    "  The    Influence    of 


118  LIFE     OF 

Opinion."  A  contemporary  newspaper  says:  "A 
numerous  audience  manifested  a  high  degree  of 
satisfaction  at  the  genius  displayed.  Elegance  of 
composition  and  propriety  of  delivery  distin- 
guished the  performance." 

One  of  Mr.  Webster's  eulogists,  Mr.  Hillard, 
says  of  him :  "  He  was  an  ambitious  man.  He 
desired  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people. 
But  on  this  subject  as  on  all  others  there  was  no 
concealment  in  his  nature.  And  ambition  is  not 
a  weakness,  unless  it  be  disproportioned  to  the 
capacity.  To  have  more  ambition  than  ability  is 
to  be  at  once  weak  and  unhappy.  With  him  it 
was  a  noble  passion,  because  it  rested  upon  noble 
powers.  He  was  a  man  cast  in  a  heroic  mould. 
His  thoughts,  his  wishes,  his  passions,  his  aspira- 
tions, were  all  on  a  grander  scale  than  those  of 
other  men.  Unexercised  capacity  is  always  a 
source  of  rusting  discontent.  The  height  to  which 
men  may  rise  is  in  proportion  to  the  upward  force 
of  their  genius,  and  they  will  never  be  calm  till 
they  have  attained  their  predestined  elevation." 

The  child  is  father  of  the  man,  and  the  same 
characteristics  which  Mr.  Hillard  notices  in  the 
character  of  the  statesman,  were  observable  in  the 
young  man  amid  the  objects  of  college  rivalry. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  119 

His  friends  conceded  him  the  first  rank,  and  in 
the  debates  and  exercises  of  the  society  of  which 
he  was  a  member  his  position  was  unequivocal. 
No  one  thought  of  Daniel  Webster  as  second  to 
any.  But  even  giant  intellect  cannot  supply  that 
knowledge  of  particulars,  which  must  be  acquired 
by  longer  study  and  better  opportunities  than 
young  Webster  had  enjoyed.  While  in  the  general 
summing  up  he  was  probably  unquestionably  su- 
perior to  all  his  classmates,  in  the  details  he  had 
not  that  proficiency  which,  by  the  strict  rules  of 
college  judgment,  entitles  a  student  to  the  highest 
honors  at  graduation.  He  thought,  as  did  his 
personal  friends  also,  that  the  valedictory  would 
be  assigned  to  him  in  the  Commencement  exer- 
cises ;  but  the  Faculty  gave  this  honor  to  acquire- 
ments rather  than  to  genius;  and  following,  as 
was  their  duty,  the  custom  and  precedent  of  the 
institution,  assigned  the  valedictory  to  him  who 
strictly  merited  it,  rather  than  to  one  who  would 
undoubtedly  have  most  distinguished  himself,  and 
honored  the  institution  in  the  performance.  Young 
Webster  was  grievously  disappointed  at  this  deci- 
sion, and,  in  the  presence  of  his  classmates,  de- 
stroyed his  diploma  as  Bachelor  of  Arts,  before  he 
left  the  college.     We  presume,  however,  the  dis- 


120  LIFE    OF 

.appointment  was  of  salutary  influence.  Had  he 
graduated  with  the  highest  honors,  he  might  have 
misunderstood  his  real  position.  The  cheek  this 
incident  gave  to  him  was  a  good  discipline.  lie 
was  spurred  to  continued  study  after  he  left  the 
institution ;  a  course  he  might  not  perhaps  have 
taken  had  he  carried  away  all  the  honors  at  Com- 
mencement, as  he  had  done  during  the  last  two 
years  in  the  unofficial  judgment  of  the  college. 

We  are  not  to  suppose,  however,  that  Mr.  Web- 
ster's vexation  about  the  circumstance  was  any- 
thing more  than  a  temporary  and  natural  emotion 
in  a  high-spirited  boy.  Nor  did  the  Faculty  regard 
it  in  any  serious  light,  or  abate  their  admiration 
of  his  genius,  and  their  estimate  of  his  capacities. 
Professor  Woodward  was  accustomed  to  speak  of 
Mr.  Webster  in  high  terms.  He  said :  "  That 
man's  victory  is  certain  who  reaches  the  heart 
through  the  medium  of  the  understanding.  lie 
gained  me  by  combating  my  opinions ;  for  I  often 
attacked  him  merely  to  try  his  strength."  Pro- 
fessor Woodward  died  just  as  Mr.  Webster  was 
entering  upon  the  practice  of  law,  and  the  highest 
honors  were  paid  to  his  memory  by  the  Faculty, 
the  Students,  and  the  Alumni  of  the  College. 
Mr.  Webster  lamented  the  death  of  his  old  friend, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  121 

as  a  child  laments  the  death  of  an  indulgent 
father.  Mr.  Webster,  through  life,  often  spoke  of 
him.  He  said  that  Dr.  Woodward  taught  him  how 
to  think,  and  to  express  his  thoughts  with  brevity, 
instead  of  indulging  in  the  redundant  style  to 
which  at  first  he  was  too  much  inclined.  "  That 
great  scholar,"  said  he,  "  taught  me  how  much  I 
could  strike  out  of  whatever  I  wrote  or  spoke, 
and  still  have  enough  to  communicate  all  I  desired 
to  say." 

Professor  Woodward  directed  Mr.  Webster's 
attention  to  the  field  in  which  he  afterwards  was 
so  eminent.  The  themes  of  his  conversation  were 
the  services  and  talents  of  such  men  as  Ames,  the 
Adamses,  Henry,  Hamilton,  and  other  great  Ame- 
rican statesmen  and  orators  of  that  era.  From 
the  journals  he  became  familiar  with  the  speeches 
and  characters  of  Pitt,  Burke,  and  the  other  lead- 
ing men  on  the  European  side  of  the  ocean.  The 
Fourth  of  July  oration  which  he  delivered  in  his 
junior  year,  shows  how  well  read  he  was  in 
European  politics  and  history. 

Thus  passed  the  college  life  of  Daniel  Webster. 
Laborious  in  his  studies  and  correct  in  his  habits, 
he  received  the  following  praise  from  the  venerable 

11 


122  LIFE    OF 

professor  of  whom  we  have  spoken  :  "  Daniel  was 
as  regular  as  the  sun.  lie  never  made  a  mistake; 
he  never  stooped  to  do  a  mean  act;  he  never 
countenanced  by  his  presence  or  conversation  any 
college  irregularities."  Hon.  Edward  Everett  thus 
sums  the  lessons  of  the  youth  of  Daniel  Webster . 
"  The  poor  boy  at  the  village  school  has  taken 
comfort,  as  he  has  read  that  the  time  was  when 
Daniel  Webster,  whose  father  told  him  he  should 
go  to  college,  if  he  had  to  sell  every  acre  of  his 
farm  to  pay  the  expense,  laid  his  head  on  the 
shoulder  of  that  fond  and  discerning  parent,  and 
wept  the  thanks  he  could  not  speak.  The  pale 
student  who  ekes  out  his  scanty  support  by  extra 
toil,  has  gathered  comfort  when  reminded  that 
the  first  jurist,  statesman  and  orator  of  the  time 
earned  with  his  weary  fingers,  by  the  midnight 
lamp,  the  means  of  securing  the  same  advantages 
of  education  to  a  beloved  brother.  Every  true- 
hearted  citizen  throughout  the  Union  has  felt  an 
honest  pride,  as  he  re-peruses  the  narrative,  in 
reflecting  that  he  lives  beneath  a  Constitution  and 
a  Government,  under  which  such  a  man  has  been 
formed  and  trained,  and  that  he  himself  is  com- 
patriot with   him.     He   does   more;    he    reflects 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  123 

with  gratitude  that,  in  consequence  of  what  that 
man  has  done,  and  written,  and  said  —  in  the 
result  of  his  efforts  to  strengthen  the  pillars  of  the 
Union  —  a  safer  inheritance  of  civil  liberty,  a 
stronger  assurance  that  these  blessings  will  en- 
dure, will  descend  to  his  children." 


124  LIFE    OF 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Mr.  Webs  er  at  Fryehurg  —  His  Labors  as  Assistant  Recorder  of 
Deeds — His  Economy  and  Prudence  —  His  continued  Eflbrts  at 
Improvement  —  Rev.  Mr.  Fessenden  —  Hon.  T.  W.  Thompson  — 
Mr.  Webster  resumes  his  Law  Studies  —  Coke  upon  Littleton — 
Webster  upon  Coke  —  Webster  as  a  Collector  of  Debts  —  Mr. 
Webster  goes  to  Boston,  and  enters  the  Office  of  Hon.  Christo- 
pher Gore  —  Character  of  that  Gentleman  —  Mr.  Webster's  con- 
tinued Industry — He  is  tendered  the  Clerkship  of  a  New  Hamp- 
shire Court — Under  Advice  of  Mr.  Gore  he  declines  it  —  The 
Astonishment  and  Chagrin  of  his  Father. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Webster  had  completed  his 
college  course,  he  entered  the  office  of  his  old 
friend,  Mr.  Thompson,  as  a  student.  But  his 
father's  poverty,  and  the  necessity  of  provision 
for  his  brother's  education,  pressed  hard  upon  him, 
and  the  necessity  became  obvious  and  imperious, 
that  the  young  student,  now  in  his  twentieth 
year,  should  do  something,  not  only  for  his  own 
support,  but  to  meet  the  requirements  of  his 
father's  family  and  his  brother's  tuition.  Ezekiel 
had  entered  at  Dartmouth  during  Daniel's  last 
year  there. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  125 

In  this  dilemma,  a  way  was  opened.  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Smith  recommended  him  as  principal  of  an 
academy  at  Fryeburg,  in  the  State  of  Maine  (then 
a  district  of  Massachusetts).  Dr.  Smith,  Pro- 
fessor of  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  Oriental  languages 
at  Dartmouth,  was  the  author  of  a  Latin  Gram- 
mar, edited  some  of  the  classics,  and  published 
also  a  Hebrew  Grammar.  He  was  a  man  whose 
word  had  weight,  and  whose  recommendation  was 
no  small  honor.  Thus,  in  Mr.  Webster's  early 
life,  we  find  every  one  who  had  to  do  with  his 
culture  and  training,  added  to  their  immediate 
instruction  their  good  offices,  to  advance  him  still 
farther.  His  schoolmasters  and  his  friend,  Mr. 
Thompson,  urged  his  being  sent  to  Phillips  Aca- 
demy. Dr.  Abbott,  the  Principal  of  that  institu- 
tion, united  with  Rev.  Dr.  Wood,  a  Trustee  of 
Dartmouth,  to  procure  his  introduction  there ;  and 
upon  leaving  college,  his  late  teachers  recom- 
mended him  to  the  trustees  of  the  Fryeburg  Aca- 
demy. It  is  stated  that,  since  the  establishment 
of  Dartmouth  College,  over  three-fourths  of  the 
students  have  taught  school  during  three  months 
in  the  year.  There  is  a  singular  propriety  and 
fitness  in  this.  Information  is  scattered  among 
the  children  of  the  people,  who  thus  indirectly 

11* 


12G  LIFE     OF 

sustain  the  college,  by  aiding  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  under-graduates. 

Mr.  Webster  remained  at  Fryeburg  nine  months, 
performing  the  duties  of  his  post  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  trustees,  who,  at  the  close  of 
his  engagement  passed  a  respectful  and  affectionate 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  young  teacher.  The  school- 
house  was  burned  down  many  years  since,  but  the 
records  of  the  trustees  of  the  Academy  are  still 
in  existence.  In  1831,  Mr.  Webster,  while  return- 
ing with  his  son  from  a  tour  to  the  White  Moun- 
tains, turned  aside  for  a  few  days  amid  the  scenes 
of  his  early  labors  in  Fryeburg.  There  is  Love- 
well's  Pond,  of  bloody  memor}',  the  scene  of 
"Lovewell's  fight."  Here,  in  1725,  Captain  John 
Lovewell,  at  the  head  of  thirty-five  men,  met 
eighty  savages,  under  a  chief  named  Paugus.  Of 
the  Indians  sixty  were  killed,  and  the  remaining 
twenty  fled,  leaving  the  remains  of  Lovewell's 
band,  only  nine  in  number,  masters  of  the  field. 
The  commanders  of  both  parties  were  among  the 
slain.  Here,  Mr.  Webster,  while  engaged  as  a 
teacher,  pursued  the  solitary  rambles  which  were 
his  recreation,  with  his  book  and  fishing-tackle. 
But  more  interesting  memorials  than  all  others  to 
his  son,  were  the  records  above  mentioned,  and 


Webster  Fishing  at  Frybukg. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  127 

two  large  bound  volumes  of  deeds,  in  the  office  of 
the  register,  written  by  Mr.  Webster's  own  hand, 
in  a  neat  style  of  penmanship.  In  addition  to 
his  duties  as  preceptor,  Mr.  Webster  copied  deeds 
for  the  register's  office,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five 
cents  each ;  and  this  more  than  met  his  personal 
expenses,  reserving  the  whole  of  his  salary,  which 
was  $350  per  annum,  to  aid  in  meeting  his  bro- 
ther's expenses  at  Dartmouth,  and  to  defray  the 
cost  of  his  own  professional  education.  These 
volumes,  large  folios,  are  monuments  of  what  is 
seldom  found  allied  to  great  genius  —  patient 
industry ;  and  they  excite  the  more  wonder  when 
it  is  remembered  that  they  were  the  extra  work 
of  less  than  a  year,  written  after  spending  the 
usual  hours  in  the  duty  of  teaching.  Mr.  Web- 
ster laughingly  said,  as  he  looked  at  them,  nearly 
half  a  century  after  they  were  written,  that  the 
ache,  which  so  much  writing  caused,  was  not  yet 
out  of  his  fingers  ! 

While  at  Fryeburg,  Mr.  Webster  borrowed  and 
read,  for  the  first  time,  Blackstone's  Commentaries. 
He  had  also  the  use  of  the  library  of  Rev.  Wm. 
Fessenden,  and  the  advice .  and  encouragement  of 
that  gentleman.  Under  his  counsel,  he  reviewed 
his  college  course,  and  strengthened  himself  in  the 


128  LIFE     OF 

points  of  useful  or  agreeable  knowledge,  where  he 
found  or  thought  himself  deficient.  Of  the  Latin 
Classics  he  remained,  through  life,  an  admirer. 
Yet  his  was  not  the  blind  worship  of  the  ancient 
which  overlooks  modern  and  contemporary  excel- 
lence. Mr.  Webster  delighted  to  read  and  re- 
peruse  what  pleased  him ;  preferring  to  master  a 
few  excellent  books,  rather  than  read  indiscrimi- 
nately. While  at  Fryeburg,  he  committed  to 
memory  Fisher  Ames's  celebrated  speech  on  the 
British  Treaty. 

Returning  home  in  September,  1802,  with  what 
to  him,  at  that  day,  was  a  full  exchequer — be- 
tween two  and  three  hundred  dollars  —  Mr.  Web- 
ster resumed  his  place  in  the  office  of  his  old 
friend  and  neighbor,  Mr.  Thompson.  As  this 
gentleman  was  Mr.  Webster's  first  teacher  in  the 
science  of  law,  our  readers  may  be  interested  to 
know  something  of  him.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  and  for  some  time  a 
tutor  in  that  university.  He  studied  law  with 
Theophilus  Parsons,  in  Newburyport,  and,  when 
admitted  to  the  bar,  opened  an  office  in  Salisbury, 
where,  as  we  have  already  stated,  he  became  early 
interested  in  Mr.  Webster.  He  had  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice,  was  a  gentleman  of  honour- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  129 

able  character,  and  stood  high  in  the  public  esti- 
mation, as  well  as  in  his  profession.  He  was  one 
of  the  trustees  of  Dartmouth,  and  represented  New 
Hampshire  once  in  the  United  States  House  of 
Representatives.  He  was  several  times  a  member 
of  the  State  Legislature,  and  served  a  term  as  a 
senator  in  Congress.  In  1809,  he  left  Salisbury, 
and  removed  to  Concord,  the  capital  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  lived  till  1819,  long  enough  to 
discern  the  commencement  of  the  fulfilment  of 
the  promise  of  his  pupil's  childhood,  and  to  see 
his  bare-footed  office-boy  enter  upon  a  career  in 
which  he  left  his  early  friends  far  behind. 

For  two  years  Mr.  Webster  pursued  his  studies 
with  Mr.  Thompson,  having  a  fellow-student  in 
Parker  Noyes,  Esq.,  who  was  in  the  office  when 
Mr.  Webster  entered,  and  who  remained  after  he 
left,  and  succeeded  to  the  business  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, on  his  removal  to  Concord.  Mr.  Noyes 
shared  in  the  interest  which  all  who  met  young 
Daniel  entertained  for  him,  and  he  was  a  worthy 
companion  for  the  ambitious  student.  Like  all 
who  were  connected  with  Mr.  Webster's  youth,  he 
was  a  man  of  a  character  to  elevate  and  improve 
his  junior.  The  office  still  remains  as  in  the  day 
when  Webster  read  and  studied  there,  fifty  years 


130  LIFE    OF 

ago.  General  Lyman,  who  has  the  interest  of  a 
devotee  in  all  that  pertains  to  Mr.  Webster,  thus 
speaks  of  the  old  building  :  —  "  There  stand  the 
identical  tables,  book-cases,  desks  and  chairs,  which 
stood  there  in  Mr.  Webster's  time.  It  is  still  a 
law-office,  but  years  and  years  have  gone  by  since 
the  venerable  proprietor  (who  is  rich  enough  to 
forego  the  practice  of  the  law)  gave  audience  to 
his  clients  in  these  rooms.  There  are  the  old 
registries  of  law-suits,  with  entries  made  in  the 
hand-writing  of  Mr.  Webster;  and  there  are  the 
old  books  on  which  his  mind  dwelt  so  intently, 
and  from  which  he  drew  some  of  the  knowledge 
to  which  the  most  eminent  judges  have  so  often 
listened,  to  be  instructed  and  convinced." 

Mr.  Webster  had,  as  his  first  book  to  read,  Coke 
upon  Littleton,  as  was  the  custom  at  that  period. 
As  the  result  of  his  own  experience,  Mr.  Webster 
says :  —  "A  boy  of  twenty,  with  no  previous 
knowledge  of  such  subjects,  cannot  understand 
Coke.  It  is  folly  to  set  him  upon  such  an  author. 
There  are  propositions  in  Coke  so  abstract,  and 
distinctions  so  nice,  and  doctrines  embracing  so 
many  distinctions  and  qualifications,  that  it  re- 
quires an  effort  not  only  of  a  mature  mind,  but 
of  a  mind  both  strong  and  mature,  to  understand 


DANIEL    WEBSTER,  131 

him.  Why  disgust  and  discourage  a  young  man, 
by  telling  him  he  must  break  into  his  profession 
through  such  a  wall  as  this  ? " 

Many  of  the  valuable  works  which  have  been 
published  on  the  science  of  law,  had  not  then 
appeared,  and  Mr.  Webster  had  to  grope  in  the 
dark,  in  unravelling  black-letter  webs,  and  de- 
ducing premises  which  have  been  unravelled  by 
others.  Along  with  his  law-studies  he  kept  up 
his  research  into  English  history,  and  his  enjoy- 
ment of  the  Latin  and  English  Classics.  He  read, 
during  these  two  years,  Sallust,  Ca?sar,  and  Ho- 
race. Some  of  the  odes  of  the  latter,  which  he 
translated,  have  been  published.  He  devoted 
much  time,  also,  to  more  intelligible  law  authori- 
ties than  Coke. 

Before  his  second  year  was  closed,  he  showed 
himself  competent  to  advise,  frequently  writing 
out  opinions  upon  the  cases  submitted  by  clients, 
which  Mr.  Thompson  adopted  and  signed  as  his 
own.  He  had  great  tact  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  facts  to  be  drawn  from  witnesses  on  the  stand, 
and  in  marshalling  the  testimony  and  arranging 
details.  General  Lyman  relates  an  amusing  anec- 
dote of  the  young  student's  success  in  collecting 
certain  moneys  due  to  a  road-contractor.    A  turn- 


132  LIFE     OF 

pike  was  to  be  built,  the  contract  being  founded 
on   subscriptions  pledged  by  property-holders   in 
Portsmouth,  and  along  the  line  of  the  proposed 
improvement.     In  the  midst  of  the  work,  from 
some    dissatisfaction,   the    subscribers    refused   to 
pay.     In  this  dilemma,  the  contractor  applied  to 
Mr.  Thompson  for  advice.     He  wrote  urgent  let- 
ters to  the  delinquents,  and  sent  Mr.  Noyes,  his 
elder  clerk,  but  neither  of   these  measures  pro- 
duced any  money.    Mr.  Webster  then  volunteered. 
He  came  dashing  into  Portsmouth,  with  his  horse 
in  a  foam ;  and,  giving  out  that  he  had  come  "  to 
get  the  money,"  desired  the  presence  of  the  Sheriff 
of  the  county.    Asking  the  privilege  of  Hon.  Jere- 
miah Mason,  he  sat  down  at  his  table,  and  com- 
menced the  filling  out  of  a  writ  for  every  delin- 
quent ;  and,  in  those  days,  a  debtor  who  could, 
must  find  bail,  or  be  committed  upon  a  writ,  to 
await  trial.     A  parley  was  soon  proposed,  and  he 
courteously  but  peremptorily  stated  his  intention 
to   deliver  the  writs,  at  a  certain    hour,  to    the 
Sheriff  for  execution,  if   the  demands  were   not 
batisfied.     When  his  horse  was  brought    to    the 
office-door,  for  him  to  mount  on  his  return,  the 
delinquents  finding  that  he  was  as  good  as  his 
word,  and  that  costs  and  trouble  were  inevitable, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  133 

unless  they  redeemed  their  subscriptions,  paid 
over  the  money  as  fast  as  he  could  receive  it;  and 
he  hurried  back  to  his  principal  with  the  funds, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  Messrs.  Thompson 
and  Noyes,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  Captain 
Kimball,  the  contractor. 

Having  acquired  all  that  could  be  learned  in 
the  limited  practice  of  a  country  office,  Mr.  Web- 
ster repaired  to  Boston.  This  was  a  step  taken 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  father,  who 
had  consulted  the  circle  of  legal  friends  with 
whom,  as  a  judge,  he  was  acquainted.  The  young 
country-lawyer's  clerk  found,  however,  that  he 
had  left  home  in  leaving  New  Hampshire.  His 
application  was  declined  by  several  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Suffolk  Bar;  but  he  persevered, 
ambitious,  and  sure  of  his  own  strength,  until  he 
obtained  admission  into  the  office  of  Hon.  Christo- 
pher Gore.  This  was  one  of  the  fortunate  events 
of  Mr.  Webster's  life.  In  many  other  offices,  his 
training  would  have  been  such  as  to  make  him  a 
mere  lawyer.  Mr.  Gore  had  at  that  time  given 
up  the  common  business  of  his  profession  —  the 
details  of  ordinary  practice,  which  Mr.  Webster 
had  already  become  familiar  with.  He  did 
nothing   as   an    attorney  or  solicitor;    but  being 

12 


134  LIFE     OF 

much  distinguished  as  a  counsellor,  was  consulted 
in  affairs  of  such  importance  as  demanded  great 
legal  learning.  He  was  a  statesman  and  a  civi- 
lian, a  gentleman  of  the  old  school  of  manners, 
and  a  rare  example  of  distinguished  intellectual 
qualities,  united  with  practical  good  sense  and 
judgment.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  tho- 
roughly educated;  and  in  his  classical  tastes  could 
sympathise  with  his  pupil.  He  was  acquainted 
with  most  of  the  great  men  of  his  time,  at  home 
and  abroad ;  having  passed  several  years  in  Eng- 
land as  a  commissioner,  under  Jay's  treaty,  for 
liquidating  the  claims  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  for  seizures  by  the  British  cruisers,  in  the 
early  wars  of  the  French  Revolution.  His  library, 
amply  furnished  with  works  of  professional  and 
general  literature,  his  large  experience  of  men  and 
things,  and  his  uncommon  amenity  of  temper, 
combined  to  make  the  period  passed  by  Mr. 
Webster,  in  his  office,  one  of  the  pleasantest  of 
his  life. 

Mr.  Knapp,  the  American  Biographer,  says  of 
Mr.  Gore's  manner  with  his  students,  that  he  soon 
forgot  or  laid  aside  the  office  relation,  and  they 
stood  to  each  other  as  mutual  and  intellectual 
friends,  without  regard  to  the  difference  in  theii 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  135 

respective  ages.  Mr.  Gore  had  a  happy  perspi- 
cuity of  style,  and  communicated  what  he  had  to 
convey  with  so  much  exactness,  discrimination, 
and  taste,  that  his  hearers  seized  his  meaning,  and 
became  familiar  with  the  facts  and  principles 
brought  forward,  without  labor.  In  commercial 
and  international  law,  he  had  a  high  reputation. 
He  had  been  several  years  familiar  with  the  best 
English  lawyers,  the  forms  and  proceedings  in  the 
courts,  and  the  customs  of  counsellors  and  advo- 
cates ;  and  imparted  to  Mr.  Webster  a  knowledge 
which  books  did  not  convey — the  living  law  which 
governs  courts,  and  can  only  be  obtained  by  prac- 
tice and  observation. 

The  young  lawyer  had  now  reached  a  genial 
atmosphere,  and  his  mind  expanded  under  the 
realisation  of  the  scope  and  magnitude  of  law  as 
a  science.  The  glimpses  which  he  had  discerned 
from  a  distance  were  verified,  and  distinctly  ex- 
tended; and  the  noble  ambition  which  was  part 
of  his  nature,  found  scope.  But  Daniel  Webster 
was  no  dreamer,  to  lose  time  in  speculations  and 
abstractions,  which  could  be  made  profitable  by 
diligence.  The  advantages  which  Mr.  Gore's 
office  and  assistance  opened  to  him,  were  not 
thrown  away.    He  regularly  attended  the  sessions 


136  LIFE     OF 

of  the  courts,  and  reported  their  decisions.  He 
read  with  care  the  leading  elementary  works  of 
common  and  municipal  law,  with  the  best  authors 
on  the  law  of  nations — some  of  them  for  a  second 
and  third  time ;  diversifying  these  strictly  pro- 
fessional studies,  with  more  agreeable  but  not  less 
useful  reading.  History  is  often  the  interpreter 
of  law;  and  to  English  History,  as  well  as  to 
American  colonial  and  political  memoirs  and 
treatises,  Mr.  Webster  devoted  great  attention. 
Shakspeare,  Bacon,  Milton,  Burke,  and  Johnson, 
were  said  to  be  his  favorites  for  miscellaneous 
reading.  His  chief  study,  however,  was  the  com- 
mon law;  and  more  especially  that  part  of  it  which 
relates  to  the  now  somewhat  obsolete  science  of 
special  pleading.  He  regarded  this  not  only  as  a 
most  refined  and  ingenious,  but  a  highly  instructive 
and  useful  branch  of  the  law.  Besides  mastering 
all  that  was  contained  in  Viner,  Bacon,  and  other 
books  then  in  common  study,  he  waded  through 
Saunders'  Reports,  in  the  original  edition,  and 
abstracted  and  translated  into  English,  from  the 
Latin  and  Norman-French,  all  the  pleadings  con- 
tained in  the  two  folio  volumes.  This  manuscript 
still  remains,  a  monument  of  his  industry.  Both 
as  an  exercise  of  the  mind,  and  as  an  acquisition 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  137 

of  useful  learning,  this  work  was  of  great  advan- 
tage to  him  in  his  professional  career.  By  the 
familiarity  which  he  thus  obtained  with  the  forms 
of  special  pleading,  guided  by  the  clear  teaching 
and  practical  suggestions  of  Mr.  Gore,  young 
Webster  came  soon  to  be  regarded  as  a  great 
special  pleader.  An  edition  of  Saunders  has  since 
appeared,  which  makes  the  useful  parts  of  the 
work  much  more  accessible ;  but  it  is  very  much 
to  be  questioned  whether  the  time  saved  by  the 
student,  by  such  aids,  is  not  saved  at  the  sacrifice 
of  mental  discipline.  What  is  acquired  by  labor 
is  longer  retained,  and  more  profoundly  impressed 
upon  the  mind. 

In  January,  1805,  the  clerkship  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county  of  Hillsborough, 
New  Hampshire,  fell  vacant.  The  office  was 
worth  $1500  per  annum;  in  those  days  more  than 
a  competence  —  absolute  wealth.  The  expenses 
incurred  in  educating  his  children  pressed  hard 
upon  Daniel  Webster's  father,  and  he  had  mort- 
gaged his  property  to  meet  it.  A  mortgaged  farm 
— his  children  away — and  himself  in  years,  made 
a  complication  of  anxiety  in  which  the  children 
deeply  shared,  without,  at  that  period,  the  means 
of  removing  it.     Ezekiel  Webster,  who  had  his 

12* 


138  LIFE    OF 

brother's  habits  of  application,  was  teaching  a 
select  school  in  Boston,  to  assist  in  discharging  the 
mortgage ;  and  for  a  portion  of  the  time  he  added 
the  labors  of  an  eveninsr  school  for  sailors  and 
apprentices.  In  addition  to  his  other  employ 
ments  and  avocations,  Daniel  assisted  his  brother, 
taking  his  place  when  ill,  or  when  absent  from 
any  other  cause.  Some  of  the  first  men  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Edward  Everett  among  them,  are  proud 
to  say  that  thus  they  received  a  portion  of  their 
education  from  Daniel  Webster.  In  his  speech 
upon  the  life  and  character  of  Webster,  delivered 
at  the  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  Mr. 
Everett  feelingly  and  gracefully  alluded  to  this 
circumstance ;  and  referring  to  other  and  later 
connections  with  the  great  dead  which  he  had 
enjoyed,  and  to  the  evidences  of  his  friendship,  of 
which  he  was  affectionately  proud,  he  quoted  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Webster,  which  he  had  received  a 
short  time  before  his  death.  In  this  letter,  Mr. 
Webster  thus  refers  to  their  friendship:  "We  now 
and  then  see,  stretching  across  the  heavens,  a 
clear,  blue,  cerulean  sky,  without  cloud,  or  mist, 
or  haze.  And  such  appears  to  me  our  acquaint- 
ance, from  the  time  when  I  heard  you  for  a  week 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  139 

recite  your  lessons  in  the  little   school-house  in 
Short  Street,  to  the  date  hereof." 

Mr.  Webster's  father  was  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county  of 
Hills  oorough.  He  had  only  to  express  a  wish 
that  his  son  should  receive  the  appointment,  and 
that  wish  was  gratified.  Delighted  with  his  suc- 
cess, he  at  once  advised  his  son  of  it.  The  young 
man  who  felt  so  warmly  for  his  friends,  had  deeper 
feelings  for  his  kindred ;  and  Daniel's  delight  was 
not  less  than  his  father's.  Now  their  embarrass- 
ment was  at  an  end,  and  the  inconvenience  which 
his  aged  parents  were  suffering  on  account  of  their 
children,  would  be  removed.  He  regarded  it  as 
an  early  realisation  of  the  benefits  which  an  edu- 
cation had  promised  him ;  and  though  it  was 
certainly  a  sacrifice  of  the  high  hopes  of  distinc- 
tion which  his  young  ambition  had  promised,  he 
was  glad,  at  such  a  sacrifice,  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  those  to  whom  his  heart  was  knit. 
Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings,  he  an- 
nounced his  good  fortune  to  his  legal  counsellor 
and  friend,  and  was  astonished  to  hear  Mr.  Gore 
peremptorily  and  vehemently  interpose  his  dissent 
—  his  utter  disapprobation  of  the  proposed  change. 


140  LIFE    OF 

"  But,"  replied  Daniel,  "  my  father  is  poor,  and  1 
wish  to  make  him  comfortable  in  his  old  age." 

Mr.  Gore  admitted  that  such  an  appointment  as 
Daniel  had  received,  was  a  great  compliment  to 
so  young  a  man ;  he  acknowledged  the  force  of 
family  affection ;  but  told  him  he  would  be  much 
more  able  to  gratify  his  friends  by  his  professional 
labors,  than  in  a  clerkship.  "  But,"  he  continued, 
"you  should  think  of  the  future  more  than  the 
present.  Become  once  a  clerk,  and  you  will 
always  be  a  clerk,  with  no  chance  of  obtaining  a 
higher  position.  Go  on,  and  finish  your  studies. 
You  are  poor  enough,  but  there  are  greater  evils 
than  poverty.  Live  in  no  man's  favor;  what 
bread  you  do  eat,  let  it  be  the  bread  of  indepen- 
dence ;  pursue  your  profession ;  make  yourself 
useful  to  your  friends,  and  a  little  formidable  to 
your  enemies,  and  you  have  nothing  to  fear." 

Mr.  Webster  appreciated  the  force  of  these 
suggestions,  so  far  as  his  own  wishes  and  hopes 
were  considered ;  but  there  still  remained  all  the 
difficulties  in  the  case — the  real  difficulties,  which 
words  could  not  remove  —  his  father's  embarrass- 
ments. In  this  dilemma,  a  friend,  Rufus  Green 
Emery,  advanced  the  money  necessary  to  relieve 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  141 

his  father's  estate ;  and  Mr.  Webster,  thus  forti- 
fied, hastened  home  to  announce  in  person  to  his 
father,  his  determination.  He  looked  round  for  a 
country  sleigh,  for  in  those  days  there  were  no 
stages  to  the  interior  of  New  Hampshire ;  and 
finding  one  which  wTas  returning  from  market, 
took  passage  with  the  owner,  and  in  two  or  three 
days  was  set  down  at  his  father's  door.  The  same 
journey  is  now  made  by  railroad  in  about  four 
hours.  At  that  time  the  winter  was  the  great 
season  for  travelling ;  and  the  snow,  hard  beaten, 
was  the  nearest  approach  to  a  railroad  which 
people  knew.  The  writer  well  remembers  the 
business  activity  of  a  Boston  winter  in  the  olden 
time ;  when  the  inn-yards  were  crowded  with 
loads  of  frozen  pork  in  sledges,  and  barrels  of 
apples,  and  other  country  produce,  carefully 
wrapped  in  blankets  and  old  quilts  to  keep  out 
the  frost,  were  exchanged  for  groceries,  and  other 
foreign  products.  Mr.  March,  in  his  interesting 
work,  "  Daniel  Webster  and  his  Contemporaries," 
thus  describes  the  scene  between  Daniel  and  his 
father : 

"  It  was   evening  when   he    arrived.     I   have 
heard  him  tell  the  story  of  the  interview.     Hie 


142  Ll  F  E    OP 

father  was  sitting  before  the  fire,  and  received  hi  no 
with  manifest  joy.  He  looked  feebler  than  he 
had  ever  appeared ;  but  his  countenance  lighted 
up,  on  seeing  his  clerk  stand  before  him  in  good 
health  and  spirits.  He  lost  no  time  in  alluding  to 
the  great  appointment  —  said  how  spontaneously 
it  had  been  made  —  how  kindly  the  Chief  Justice 
proposed  it,  and  with  what  unanimity  all  assented. 
During  this  speech,  it  can  well  be  imagined  how 
embarrassed  Mr.  Webster  felt,  compelled,  as  he 
thought  from  a  conviction  of  duty,  to  disappoint 
his  father's  sanguine  expectations.  Nevertheless, 
he  commanded  his  countenance  and  voice,  so  as 
to  reply  in  a  sufficiently  assured  manner.  He 
spoke  gaily  about  the  office ;  expressed  his  great 
obligation  to  their  Honors,  and  his  intention  to 
write  them  a  most  respectful  letter ;  if  he  could 
have  consented  to  record  any  body's  judgments,  he 
should  have  been  proud  to  have  recorded  their 
Honors'.'  He  proceeded  in  this  strain,  till  his 
father  exhibited  signs  of  amazement;  it  having 
occurred  to  him,  at  length,  that  his  son  might  all 
the  time  be  serious.  '  Do  you  intend  to  decline 
this  office  ?'  he  asked.  '  Most  certainly,'  replied 
his  son;  'I  cannot  think  of  doing  otherwise.     I 


Webster  Declining  the  Clerkship. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  143 

mea'i  to  use  my  tongue  in  the  courts,  not  my  pen ; 
to  be  an  actor,  not  a  register  of  other  men's 
actions.' 

"  For  a  moment,  Judge  Webster  seemed  angry. 
He  rocked  his  chair  slightly ;  a  flash  went  ovei 
his  eye,  softened  by  age,  but  even  then  black  as 
jet;  but  it  immediately  disappeared,  and  his 
countenance  resumed  its  habitual  serenity.  Pa- 
rental love  and  partiality  could  not,  after  all,  but 
have  been  gratified  with  the  son's  devotion  to  an 
honorable  and  distinguished  profession,  and  his 
evident  confidence  of  success  in  it.  'Well,  my 
son,'  said  the  Judge,  'your  mother  has  always 
said  that  you  would  come  to  something  or  nothing, 
she  was  not  sure  which.  I  think  you  are  about 
settling  that  doubt  for  her.'  " 

In  a  few  days,  Daniel  returned  to  Boston,  and 
the  subject  was  never  again  alluded  to  in  the 
family.  Mr.  Webster  says  that  his  father's  eyes 
were  brimful  of  the  tears  of  gratitude,  as  he  spoke 
of  the  appointment ;  and  that  when  he  heard  his 
son  decline  it,  he  could  scarce  believe  his  own 
ears.  Before  Mr.  Webster  left  home,  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  giving  his  father  the  means  to 
remove  the  mortgage,  and  to  pay  all  the  debts 


144  LIFE    OF 

which  had  been  contracted  on  account  of  himseli 
and  his  brother.  The  money  came,  as  we  have 
stated,  in  part  from  Mr.  Emery,  and  in  part  from 
Daniel's  earnings,  and  his  brother's.  He  wrote  a 
grateful  and  respectful  letter  to  the  judges,  and 
felt  that  restored  serenity  which  every  one  expe- 
riences when  a  troublesome  question  is  deter- 
mined. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  145 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Mr.  Webster  admitted  to  the  Bar  —  Establishes  himself  in  New 
Hampshire  —  His  first  cause  —  Death  of  his  father  —  A  son's 
testimony — The  trial  of  a  dumb  depredator — Fourth  of  July 
Oration  in  1806  —  Opinions  of  France  —  Relations  of  Agri- 
culture and  Commerce  —  Monthly  Anthology  —  Mr.  Webster's 
first  criminal  case  —  His  fatiguing  journeys  —  His  abhorrence 
of  affectation  —  Mode  of  addressing  a  jury  —  Admission  to  the 
Superior  Court. 

In  March,  1805,  Mr.  Gore  moved  the  admission 
of  his  pupil,  Daniel  Webster,  to  practise  at  the 
Bar  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  for  Suffolk 
County.  In  introducing  him,  Mr.  Gore  spoke 
with  emphasis  of  his  remarkable  talents  and 
attainments,  and  confidently  predicted  his  future 
eminence.  The  prediction  had,  no  doubt,  its 
influence  in  producing  its  own  fulfilment;  both 
by  its  stimulus  upon  the  mind  of  the  young 
lawyer,  and  by  its  weight  upon  those  who  heard, 
from  Mr.  Gore,  a  commendation  much  warmer 
than  the  mere  course  of  professional  courtesy 
would  warrant  or  require. 

13 


146  LIFE     OF 

Mr.  Webster  had  resolved  to  establish  himself 
in  his  native  state.  Local  attachments  and  filial 
affection  induced  him  to  this  determination  ;  and 
perhaps  he  felt  a  natural  diffidence,  which  led  him 
to  try  his  first  practice  in  a  narrower  sphere  than 
Boston,  and  to  avail  himself  of  his  early  friend- 
ships and  connections.  His  Boston  acquaintances 
and  friends,  hearing  of  Mr.  Webster's  intention  to 
settle  in  New  Hampshire,  promised  him  their 
business ;  and  as  at  that  time  there  were  many 
mercantile  failures,  Mr.  Webster  commenced  at 
once  a  lucrative  employment  in  the  collection  of 
debts.  After  he  had  been  admitted  to  the  Bar, 
he  went  from  Boston  to  Amherst,  where  his 
father's  court  was  in  session,  and  returned  home 
with  him.  His  original  purpose  had  been  to 
settle  in  Portsmouth,  that  being  the  only  seaport 
in  the  state,  and  the  place  of  the  principal  com- 
mercial business.  But  the  age  of  his  father,  then 
in  his  sixty-seventh  year,  determined  Daniel  to 
remain  near  him ;  and  he  opened  an  office  in  the 
neighboring  village  of  Boscawen. 

In  September  of  the  same  year,  1805,  Mr. 
Webster  first  appeared  in  court  for  the  trial  of 
a  cause.  His  father  was  on  the  bench,  and  the 
court  was  held  in  Plymouth,  then  the  county-seat 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  147 

of  Grafton.  Among  the  members  of  the  Bar 
present  were  Mr.  Webster's  old  friend,  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, and  several  others  to  whom  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  looking  up  with  reverence  and 
respect.  The  Sheriff  of  the  court  was  Col.  William 
Webster,  a  connection  of  the  family,  who  had 
never  seen  Daniel  Webster  before,  and  who  relates 
that  he  was  ashamed  to  see  so  lean  and  feeble  a 
young  man  come  into  court  bearing  the  name  of 
Webster.  He  thought  when  Mr.  Webster  rose, 
that  he  could  not  stand  up  long.  His  misgivings 
were  soon  dissipated,  however,  as  the  debutant 
had  well  prepared  himself;  and  in  this,  his  maiden 
speech,  surprised  the  court,  and  caused  confident 
auguries  of  his  future  eminence.  It  was  such  an 
introduction  to  the  law-seeking  public,  as  there- 
after ensured  him  crowds  of  clients. 

Mr.  Webster's  father  died  in  the  Spring  follow- 
ing. Let  us  quote  Mr.  Webster's  own  language 
respecting  him :  "  My  father,  Ezekiel  Webster, 
was  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw,  except  my 
brother  Ezekiel.  He  died  in  April,  1806.  I 
neither  left  him  nor  forsook  him.  My  opening  an 
office  at  Boscawen  was  that  I  might  be  near  him. 
I  closed  his  eyes.  He  died  at  sixty-seven  years 
uf  age,  after  a  life  of  exertion,  toil,  and  exposure ; 


148  LIFE     OF 

a  private  soldier,  an  officer,  a  legislator,  a  judge; 
every  thing  a  man  could  be,  to  whom  learning 
'  never  had  disclosed  her  ample  page.'  My  first 
speech  at  the  bar  was  made  when  he  was  on  the 
bench.  He  never  heard  me  a  second  time.  He 
had  in  him  what  I  recollect  to  have  been  the 
character  of  some  of  the  old  Puritans.  He  was 
deeply  religious,  but  not  sour.  On  the  contrary, 
good-humored  and  facetious,  showing,  even  in  his 
age,  with  a  contagious  laugh,  teeth  all  as  white  as 
alabaster ;  gentle,  soft,  playful ;  and  yet  having  a 
heart  in  him  that  he  seemed  to  have  borrowed 
from  a  lion.  He  could  frown — a  frown  it  was  — 
but  cheerfulness,  good-humor,  and  smiles,  com- 
posed his  most  usual  aspect." 

As  throwing  light  on  the  character  of  father 
and  children,  we  preserve  the  following  anecdote 
of  the  early  years  of  the  two  brothers,  Ezekiel 
and  Daniel.  The  incident  is  related  by  a  corres- 
pondent of  the  Boston  Traveller.  The  vegetables 
in  the  garden  had  suffered  very  much  from  the 
depredations  of  a  woodchuck.  Daniel,  some  ten  or 
twelve  years  old,  and  his  older  brother  Ezekiel, 
had  set  a  trap,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  tres- 
passer. Ezekiel  proposed  to  kill  the  animal,  and 
end   at   once    all  further  trouble  from  him;    but 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  149 

Daniel  looked  with  compassion  on  his  meek,  dumb 
captive,  and  offered  to  let  him  again  go  free.  The 
boys  could  not  agree,  and  each  appealed  to  their 
father  to  decide  the  case.  "  Well,  my  boys,"  said 
the  old  gentleman,  "  I  will  be  the  Judge.  There 
is  the  prisoner  (pointing  to  the  woodchuck)  and 
you  shall  be  the  counsel,  and  plead  the  case  for 
and  against  his  life  and  liberty." 

Ezekiel  opened  the  case  with  a  strong  argu- 
ment, urging  the  mischievous  nature  of  the  crimi- 
nal, the  great  harm  he  had  already  done,  said 
that  much  time  and  labor  had  been  spent  in  his 
capture,  and  now,  if  he  was  suffered  to  live  and 
go  again  at  large,  he  would  renew  his  depreda- 
tions, and  be  cunning  enough  not  to  suffer  himself 
to  be  caught  again,  and  that  he  ought  now  to  be 
put  to  death ;  that  his  skin  was  of  some  value, 
and  that  to  make  the  most  of  him  they  could,  it 
would  not  repay  half  the  damage  he  had  already 
done.  His  argument  was  ready,  practical,  to  the 
point,  and  of  much  greater  length  than  our  limits 
will  allow  us  to  occupy  in  relating  the  story. 

The  father  looked  with  pride  upon  his  son,  who 
became  a  distinguished  jurist  in  his  manhood. 
"  Now,  Daniel,  it  is  your  turn ;  I'll  hear  what  you 
have  to  say." 

19* 


150  LIFE     OF 

'Twas  his  first  case.  Daniel  saw  that  the  plea 
of  his  brother  had  sensibly  affected  his  father,  the 
Judge;  and  as  his  large,  brilliant  black  eyes 
looked  upon  the  soft,  timid  expression  of  the  ani- 
mal, and  as  he  saw  it  tremble  with  fear  in  its 
narrow  prison-house,  his  heart  swelled  with  pity, 
and  he  appealed  with  eloquent  words  that  the 
captive  might  again  go  free.  God,  lie  said,  had 
made  the  wroodchuck  ;  he  made  him  to  live,  to 
enjoy  the  bright  sunlight,  the  pure  air,  the  free 
fields  and  woods.  God  had  not  made  him,  or 
anything,  in  vain ;  the  woodehuek  had  as  much 
right  to  live  as  any  other  living  thing;  he  was 
not  a  destructive  animal,  as  the  wolf  and  the  fox 
were ;  he  simply  ate  a  few  common  vegetables,  of 
which  they  had  a  plenty,  and  could  well  spare  a 
part ;  he  destroyed  nothing  except  the  little  food 
he  needed  to  sustain  his  humble  life ;  and  that 
little  food  was  as  sweet  to  him,  and  as  necessary 
to  his  existence,  as  was  to  them  the  food  upon  his 
mother's  table.  God  furnished  their  own  food ; 
he  gave  them  all  they  possessed ;  and  would  they 
not  spare  a  little  for  the  dumb  creature,  who 
really  had  as  much  right  to  his  small  share  of 
God's  bounty,  as  they  themselves  had  to  their 
portion?  yea,  more,  the  animal  had  never  violated 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  151 

the  laws  of  his  nature,  or  the  laws  of  God,  as  man 
often  did ;  but  strictly  followed  the  simple,  harm- 
less instincts  he  had  received  from  the  hand  of 
the  Creator  of  all  things.  Created  by  God's  hand, 
he  had  a  right,  a  right  from  God,  to  life,  to  food, 
to  liberty ;  and  they  had  no  right  to  deprive  him 
of  either.  He  alluded  to  the  mute  but  earnest 
pleadings  of  the  animal  for  that  life,  as  sweet,  as 
dear  to  him,  as  their  own  was  to  them,  and  the 
just  judgment  they  might  expect  if  in  selfish 
cruelty,  and  cold  heartlessness,  they  took  the  life 
they  could  not  restore  again  —  the  life  that  God 
alone  had  given. 

During  this  appeal,  the  tears  had  started  to  the 
old  man's  eyes,  and  were  fast  running  down  his 
sun-burnt  cheeks ;  every  feeling  of  a  father's  heart 
was  stirred  within  him ;  he  saw  the  future  great- 
ness of  his  son  before  his  eyes ;  he  felt  that  God 
had  blessed  him  in  his  children  beyond  the  lot  of 
common  men ;  his  pity  and  sympathy  were  awa- 
kened by  the  eloquent  words  of  compassion,  and 
the  strong  appeal  for  mercy ;  and  forgetting  the 
Judge  in  the  man  and  the  father,  he  sprang  from 
his  chair,  (while  Daniel  was  in  the  midst  of  his 
argument,  without  thinking  he  had  already  won 
bis  case,)  and  turning  to  his  older  son,  dashing 


L52  LIFE     OF 

the  tears  from  his  eyes,  exclaimed,  "  Zeke,  Zeke, 

TOU  LET  THAT  WOODCHUCK  GO  !" 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  180G,  Mr.  Webster  was 
chosen  by  the  people  of  Concord  to  deliver  an 
oration.  This,  like  the  oration  of  1800,  is  not 
included  in  Mr.  Webster's  published  works,  and 
we  avail  ourselves  of  the  abstracts  and  extracts 
made  by  General  Lyman,  that  our  readers  may 
compare  it  with  his  earlier  performances.  The 
subject  of  the  speech  was  the  possibility  of 
preserving  the  present  form  of  our  government, 
the  solitary  representative  of  republican  institu- 
tions. "  When  we  speak,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "  of 
preserving  the  Constitution,  we  mean  not  the  paper 
on  which  it  is  written,  but  the  spirit  which  dwells 
in  it.  Government  may  lose  all  of  its  real  char- 
acter, its  genius,  its  temper,  without  losing  its 
appearance.  Republicanism,  unless  you  guard  it, 
will  creep  out  of  its  case  of  parchment,  like  a 
snake  out  of  its  skin.  You  may  have  a  Despot- 
ism under  the  name  of  a  Republic.  You  may 
look  on  a  government  and  see  it  possess  all  the 
external  modes  of  Freedom,  and  yet  find  nothing 
of  the  essence,  the  vitality  of  Freedom  in  it;  just 
rs  you  may  contemplate  an  embalmed  body, 
where  oil    hath  preserved   proportion  and   form, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  153 

and  nerves  without  motion,  and  veins  void  of 
blood." 

Among  the  most  dangerous  enemies  of  our 
government,  he  histanced  the  passions  and  vices 
of  the  people.  But  considering  that  evil  commu- 
nications corrupt  systems  as  well  as  individuals, 
he  enlarged  on  the  dangers  which  threatened  its 
well-being  from  its  foreign  relations.  Intimately 
connected  as  was  our  country  with  foreign  nations 
by  commerce,  which,  from  its  nature,  cannot  exist 
without  rivalship,  he  inferred  the  necessity  and 
policy  of  granting  it  a  protection  sufficient  to 
defend  it  from  the  interruptions  and  aggressions 
which  the  spirit  of  rivalship,  and  the  injustice  of 
other  nations  may  dispose  them  to  infer.  The 
want  of  protection  to  commerce  will  be  more  fatal 
to  our  agriculture  than  ■  either  the  drought  or  the 
mildew ;  for  in  this  instance,  were  it  left  to  our 
choice,  we  should  certainly  imitate  the  conduct  of 
David,  by  choosing  "  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Lord  (for  his  mercies  are  great),  and  not  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  men." 

The  following  sketch  of  the  character  of  the 
French  empire  will  be  read  with  interest,  as 
coming  from  a  strong  mind,  contemporary  with 
the  events  on  which  it  dwelt. 


154  LIFE     OF 

"  We  seem  to  be  carried  back  to  the  Roman 
age.  The  days  of  Caesar  are  come  again.  Even  a 
greater  than  Caesar  is  here.  The  throne  of  the 
Bourbons  is  now  filled  by  a  new  character  of  the 
most  astonishing  fortunes.  A  new  dynasty  hath 
taken  place  in  Europe.  A  new  era  hath  com- 
menced. An  empire  is  founded,  more  populous, 
more  energetic,  more  warlike,  more  powerful,  than 
Ancient  Rome,  at  any  moment  of  her  existence. 
The  basis  of  this  mighty  fabric  covers  France, 
Holland,  Spain,  Prussia,  Italy,  and  Germany ; 
embracing  perhaps  an  eighth  part  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  globe. 

"  Though  this  Empire  is  commercial  in  some 
degree  and  in  some  parts,  its  ruling  passion  is  not, 
commerce  but  war.  Its  genius  is  conquest,  its 
ambition  is  fame.  With  all  the  immorality,  the 
licentiousness,  the  prodigality,  the  corruption  of 
declining  Rome,  it  has  the  enterprise,  the  courage, 
the  ferocity,  of  Rome  in  the  days  of  the  Consuls. 
While  the  French  Revolution  was  acting,  it  was 
difficult  to  speak  of  France  without  exciting  the 
rancor  of  political  party.  The  cause  in  which  the 
leaders  professed  to  be  engaged,  was  too  dear  to 
American  hearts  to  suffer  their  motives  to  be 
(j  lestioned,  or  their  excesses  censured  with  just 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  155 

severity.  But  the  Revolutionary  drama  is  now 
closed — the  curtain  hath  fallen  on  those  tremend- 
ous scenes,  which,  for  fourteen  years,  held  the  eye 
of  the  world — that  meteor  which,  '  from  its  horrid 
hair  shook  pestilence  and  war,'  hath  now  passed 
off  into  the  distant  regions  of  space,  and  left  us 
to  speculate  coolly  on  the  causes  of  its  appearance." 

It  will  be  perceived  that,  passing  from  boyhood 
to  manhood  in  years,  Mr.  Webster  had  not  changed 
his  opinions  in  relation  to  France.  His  political 
preferences  were  strongly  marked.  At  the  time 
when  Mr.  Webster  delivered  this  oration,  the  gun- 
boat policy  of  Mr.  Jefferson  had  been  brought 
forward,  and  the  embargo  hinted  at,  thus  leaving 
foreign  commerce  undefended,  and  protecting  by 
annihilating  it.  Mr.  Webster's  political  bias  led 
him  to  strong  opposition  to  any  policy  which 
should  include  the  abandonment  of  protection  to 
the  naval  interests.  He  reviewed  the  position  of 
the  United  States  in  regard  to  both  the  great 
belligerents,  Britain  and  France ;  and  urged  the 
importance  of  protecting  the  commercial  interests 
of  the  country. 

"  Nothing  is  plainer,"  he  said,  "  than  this :  if 
we  will  have  commerce,  we  must  protect  it.  This 
country  is   commercial    as  well   as    agricultural. 


]56  LIFE     OF 

Indissoluble  bonds  connect  him  who  ploughs  the 
land  with  him  who  ploughs  the  sea.  Nature  has 
placed  us  in  a  situation  favorable  to  commercial 
pursuits,  and  no  government  can  alter  the  destina- 
tion. Habits  confirmed  by  two  centuries  are  not 
to  be  changed.  An  immense  portion  of  our 
property  is  on  the  waves.  Sixty  or  eighty 
thousand  of  our  most  useful  citizens  are  there, 
and  are  entitled  to  such  protection  from  the 
government  as  their  case  requires." 

Thus,  though  Mr.  Webster  had  at  this  time  no 
thoughts  of  becoming  a  politician,  we  find  him 
honestly  exhibiting  his  political  preferences,  and 
exhibiting  the  opinions  of  which  at  no  distant 
period,  he  was  to  become  the  public  champion. 
He  was  attentive  to  his  profession,  and  not  neglect- 
ful of  his  literary  tastes  and  avocations.  From 
his  quiet  office  in  Boscawen  he  furnished  articles 
for  the  Monthly  Anthology,  published  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  supported  by  the  pens  of  the  most 
distinguished  American  writers  of  that  day.  It 
was  edited  by  his  old  Phillips  Academy  friend  and 
fellow-student,  Joseph  Stevens  Buckminster;  and 
in  this  field  Mr.  Webster  could  give  free  scope  to 
his  brilliant  imagination. 

The  second  effort  of  Mr.  Webster  at    the  bar 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  157 

was  the  defence  of  a  man  arraigned  for  murder. 
He  was  not  yet  admitted  to  practice  in  the  court 
in  which  the  man  was  tried ;  and  perhaps  the 
case  was  one  of  guilt  so  obvious  that  only  the 
custom  of  the  court  made  the  assignment  of  coun- 
sel necessary.  The  murder  was  foul  and  horrid, 
perpetrated  on  an  innocent  man ;  a  fellow  prisoner 
for  debt.  They  were  in  the  same  room,  and  no 
provocation  was  given  by  the  victim  which  could 
in  any  degree  palliate  the  offence.  The  fact  of 
killing  could  not  be  questioned,  and  the  defence 
was  narrowed  down  to  a  single  point,  the  insanity 
of  the  prisoner.  This  plea,  while  often  least 
tenable  in  fact,  gives  scope  for  legal  ingenuity  in 
an  inverse  ratio  to  its  basis.  There  were  no  proofs 
of  the  man's  former  insanity  —  but  his  malignity 
of  disposition  was  notorious.  Mr.  Webster  argued 
that  the  very  enormity  of  the  deed,  perpetrated 
without  any  of  the  motives  which  operate  upon 
most  minds,  furnished  presumptive  proof  of  the 
prisoner's  alienation  of  mind ;  and  even  the  cool 
deliberation  and  apparent  serenity  which  he  ex- 
hibited at  the  time  the  deed  was  done,  were  proofs 
that  reason  was  perverted,  and  that  a  momentary 
insanity  had  seized  him. 

The  court  and  jury  were  deeply  interested  in 
14 


158  LIFE    OF 

the  young  advocate's  masterly  analysis  of  the 
human  mind.  He  opened  all  the  springs  of  action, 
and  described  and  classed  every  faculty  of  the 
mind  so  lucidly  and  philosophically  that  it  was  a 
new  school  for  those  who  heard  him.  He  showed 
the  different  shapes  insanity  assumed,  from  a 
single  current  of  false  reasoning  upon  a  particular 
subject,  while  there  is  a  perfect  soundness  of  mind 
upon  every  other;  to  the  reasoning  aright  upon 
wrong  premises  and  to  the  reasoning  wrong  upon 
right  premises,  up  to  those  paroxysms  of  madness, 
when  the  eye  is  filled  with  strange  sights,  and  the 
ear  with  strange  sounds,  and  reason  is  entirely 
dethroned.  As  he  laid  open  the  infirmities  of 
human  nature,  the  jury  were  in  tears  and  the  by- 
standers were  still  more  affected ;  but  common 
sense  prevailed  over  argument  and  eloquence,  and 
the  wretch  was  condemned  and  executed.  The 
speech  lost  nothing  of  its  effect  upon  the  people 
by  the  decision  of  the  jury,  and  was  long  the 
subject  of  conversation.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  less  eloquent  pleas  have  often  since  defeated 
in  our  courts  the  ends  of  justice. 

Mr.  Webster's  early  career  at  the  bar  was 
attended  with  as  much  labor  and  unremitted 
study  as   his   course  through  college   had    been 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  159 

Indeed,  he  graduated  with  a  reputation  which  it 
was  no  small  task  to  sustain.  He  might,  as  many 
other  precocious  students  have  done,  have  lived  a 
short  time  upon  his  college  laurels,  and  then  have 
passed  into  oblivion.  Life,  with  him,  was  an 
earnest  struggle ;  and  as  a  specimen  of  the  physi- 
cal endurance  which  he  sustained,  he  stated  to  a 
friend  that  he  had,  during  his  early  years  as  a 
lawyer,  frequently,  at  sunset,  put  his  saddle  on 
his  horse,  and  ridden  fifty  miles,  to  be  present  at 
the  opening  of  court  the  next  morning.  On  one 
occasion,  after  a  toilsome  series  of  days  and  nights, 
he  was  journeying  on  horseback,  along  a  lonely 
road,  when  he  fell  into  a  profound  study  upon  the 
merits  of  the  case  he  was  to  argue  the  next  morn- 
ing. Long  and  tedious  was  the  trial,  as  it  pro- 
ceeded in  the  chamber  of  his  brain  ;  when,  just  as 
the  jury  were  to  pronounce  the  verdict,  a  drop  of 
water  fell  on  his  hand,  and  he  awakened  from 
sleep,  comfortably  seated  under  a  tree,  whither  his 
horse  had  carried  him.  After  this  nap  in  the 
saddle,  he  hurried  away,  to  finish,  in  his  waking 
hours,  the  work  he  had  done  in  his  dream. 

In  the  long  years  of  Mr.  Webster's  legal  prac- 
tice, nearly  half  a  century,  it  is  stated  that  he  was 
employed  as  junior  counsel  in  not  more  than  about 


1G0  LIFE     OF 

a  dozen  instances.  He  had,  almost  from  the  first, 
not  so  much  a  reputation  to  achieve,  as  to  defend. 
Much  was  expected  of  him;  and  while  other 
young  practitioners  were  gaining  experience  in 
lesser  cases,  and  inferior  courts,  Mr.  Webster  was 
thrown  at  once  into  a  line  of  practice  which  re- 
quired all  his  talents,  and  imposed  upon  him 
constant  study.  He  always  prepared  himself  with 
great  industry  and  care  —  not  relying  upon  his 
conscious  powers,  but  supporting  his  eloquence  by 
facts  and  precedents.  He  considered  it  an  insult 
to  his  auditory,  at  all  periods  of  his  life,  to  come 
before  them  unprepared,  lie  abhorred  affectation 
—  and  most  of  all,  the  affectation  of  speaking  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  without  previous 
thought.  A  friend  of  his,  in  speaking  of  his 
habits  and  characteristics,  says  :  "  I  have  often 
thought,  from  my  long  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Webster,  that  if  other  men  could  think  as  long, 
and  as  closely,  and  as  profoundly,  their  public 
efforts  would  equal  his ;  for  I  have  never  known 
a  man  in  my  life  who  made  such  preparation  for 
what  he  had  to  say  before  the  court,  before  the 
Senate,  or  before  the  people.  He  did  not  think 
he  had  any  right  to  offer  extemporaneous  thoughts 
before  a  multitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  no  matter 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  101 

who  they  were.  He  thought  he  was  to  dress 
himself  in  his  best  garments  —  that  he  was  to 
appear  and  deliver  his  best  thoughts,  in  his  best 
style,  to  those  who  stood  to  hear  him.  And  thence 
it  happens  that  he  always  gave,  in  the  course  of 
his  long  life,  thoughts  which  were  the  result  of 
thorough  preparation:  the  public  came  to  under- 
stand that  what  Mr.  Webster  said  was  worth 
reading.  Hence,  what  he  did  say  was  read  more 
than  the  productions  of  any  man  who  was  his 
compeer  in  the  country." 

In  opening  a  case,  he  secured  his  jury  by  a 
plain,  intelligible  statement,  using  such  clear  and 
unadorned  language  as  could  not  be  mistaken,  and 
thus  gave  evidence  of  his  intention  not  to  distort 
or  to  mislead.  He  gained  their  confidence  before 
he  appealed  to  their  reason. 

In  May,  1807,  Mr.  Webster  was  admitted  as 
attorney  and  counsellor  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
New  Hampshire;  and  in  September  he  relin- 
quished his  office  and  practice  in  Boscawen  to  his 
brother  Ezekiel,  and  removed  to  Portsmouth. 


14* 


1G2  LIFE    OF 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  New  Hampshire  Bar — Mr.  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Mason  — 
Professional  Anecdotes — The  Drilled  Witness — Webster's  Farm 
— Mr.  Webster's  Marriage — State  of  the  Country  and  of  Parties 
■ —  New  England  Interests  —  The  Bar  as  an  Introduction  to 
Public  Life  —  Mr.  Webster  in  "caucus"  —  Popular  Enthusiasm 
—  Mr.  Webster's  Professional  Industry  —  His  Habits  of  Early 
Rising  —  His  Letter  upon  the  Morning. 

Among  the  distinguished  men  with  whom  Mr. 
Webster  was  brought  into  competition  at  the  bar 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  were 
Jeremiah  Mason,  Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore, 
William  King  Atkinson,  and  George  Sullivan. 
Jeremiah  Smith  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  State ; 
and  having  been  an  early  and  attached  friend  of 
Mr.  Webster's  father,  the  son  succeeded  to  his 
friendship.  Samuel  Dexter  and  Joseph  Story,  of 
Massachusetts,  were  occasional  practitioners  in  the 
New  Hampshire  courts.  To  meet  such  men,  Mr. 
Webster  was  obliged  assiduously  to  prepare  him- 
self; and  by  close  study  to  supply  his  lack  of 
experience.     lie  sounded  his  clients  thoroughly, 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  163 

and  explored  every  point  which  the  opposite  party 
were  likely  to  make ;  acquainting  himself  care- 
fully with  the  weakness  as  well  as  the  strength 
of  his  own  side,  and  of  the  other.  He  was  very 
rarely  surprised  by  any  new  or  unexpected  testi- 
mony ;  and  even  though  some  unlooked-for  deve- 
lopment occurred,  he  betrayed  no  astonishment. 

As  Mr.  Mason  and  Mr.  Webster  were  the 
acknowledged  heads  of  the  bar,  they  were  usually 
engaged  in  the  same  causes,  and  most  generally 
opposed  to  each  other.  They  travelled  together, 
occupied  apartments  in  the  same  house,  and  sat 
at  the  same  table ;  by  their  friendly  intercourse 
exciting  the  wonder  of  men,  who  could  not  com- 
prehend how  the  two  great  advocates  could  deal 
such  hard  blows  in  argument,  and  still  be  warm 
friends.  Mr.  Mason  died  in  1849  ;  and  Mr.  Web- 
ster, in  a  speech  at  the  meeting  of  the  Suffolk 
Bar,  made  the  following  allusion  to  their  early 
and  continued  friendship :  "  The  proprieties  of 
this  occasion  compel  me,  with  whatever  reluctance, 
to  refrain  from  the  personal  feelings  which  arise 
in  my  heart  upon  the  death  of  one  with  whom  I 
have  cultivated  a  sincere,  affectionate,  aud  un- 
broken friendship,  from  the  day  that  I  commenced 
my  own  professional  career  to  the  closing  hour  of 


1C4  LIFE    OF 

his  life.  1  will  not  say,  of  the  advantages  which 
I  have  derived  from  his  intercourse  and  conver- 
sation, all  that  Mr.  Fox  said  of  Edmund  Burke ; 
hut  I  am  hound  to  say,  of  my  own  professional 
discipline  and  attainments,  whatever  they  may  he, 
I  owe  much  to  that  close  attention  to  the  dis- 
charge of  my  duties,  which  I  was  compelled  to 
pay  for  nine  successive  years,  from  day  to  day,  by 
Mr.  Mason's  efforts  and  arguments  at  the  same 
bar.  Fas  est  ah  lioste  doceri ;  and  I  must  have 
been  unintelligent  indeed,  not  to  have  learned 
something  from  the  constant  displays  of  that 
power  which  I  had  so  much  occasion  to  see  and 
to  feel."  While  conversing  upon  his  connection 
with  Mr.  Mason,  Mr.  Webster  once  said  :  "  If  any 
body  should  think  me  somewhat  familiar  with  the 
law  on  some  points,  and  should  be  curious  enough 
to  desire  to  know  how  it  happened,  tell  him  that 
Jeremiah  Mason  compelled  me  to  study  it.  He 
was  my  master." 

It  is  related  that  the  first  meeting  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster with  Jeremiah  Mason,  as  opposing  counsel, 
was  in  a  criminal  case.  The  person  accused  being 
a  man  of  some  note,  great  efforts  were  made  to 
defend  him ;  and  Jeremiah  Mason,  as  the  most 
prominent  member  of  the  Portsmouth  Bar,  waa 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  165 

engaged  for  the  defence.  In  the  absence  of  the 
prosecuting  attorney,  Mr.  Webster  was  delegated 
to  conduct  the  prosecution  for  the  State.  The 
accused  was  acquitted;  but  Mr.  Mason  acknow- 
ledged the  high,  open,  and  manly  ground  taken 
by  Mr.  Webster.  He  did  not  resort  to  technicali- 
ties, but  confined  himself  to  the  law  and  the  facts, 
and  commanded  the  high  respect  of  bench  and 
of  bar. 

An  amusing  anecdote  of  Mr.  Webster's  early 
professional  career,  as  related  by  himself,  is  given 
in  Lanman's  "  Private  Life."  "  Soon  after  com- 
mencing the  practice  of  my  profession  at  Ports- 
mouth," said  Mr.  Webster,  "  I  was  waited  on  by 
an  old  acquaintance  of  my  father's,  resident  in  an 
adjacent  county,  who  wished  to  engage  my  pro- 
fessional services.  Some  years  previous,  he  had 
rented  a  farm,  with  the  clear  understanding  that 
he  could  purchase  it,  after  the  expiration  of  his 
lease,  for  one  thousand  dollars.  Finding  the  farm 
productive,  he  soon  determined  to  own  it;  and  as 
lie  laid  aside  money  for  the  purchase,  he  was 
iempted  to  improve  what  he  felt  certain  he  should 
possess.  But  his  landlord,  perceiving  the  property 
was  greatly  increased  in  value,  coolly  refused  to 
receive  the   one  thousand  dollars,  when,  in  due 


166  LIFE     OP 

time,  it  was  presented;  and  when  his  extortionate 
demand  of  double  that  sum  was  refused,  he  at 
once  brought  an  action  of  ejectment.  The  man 
had  but  the  one  thousand  dollars,  and  an  unble- 
mished reputation ;  yet  I  willingly  undertook  his 
case. 

"  The  opening  argument  of  the  plaintiff's 
attorney  left  me  little  ground  for  hope.  lie 
stated  that  he  could  prove  that  my  client  hired 
the  farm ;  but  there  was  not  a  word  in  the  lease 
about  the  sale,  nor  was  there  a  word  spoken  about 
the  sale  when  the  lease  was  signed,  as  he  could 
prove  by  a  witness.  In  short,  his  was  a  clear 
case,  and  I  left  the  courtroom  at  dinner-time  with 
feeble  hopes  of  success.  By  chance  I  sat  at  table 
next  a  newly-commissioned  militia  officer,  and  a 
brother  lawyer  began  to  joke  him  about  his  lack 
of  military  knowledge.  '  Indeed,'  he  jocosely 
remarked,  'you  should  write  down  the  orders,  and 

get  old  W to  beat  them  into  your  sconce,  as 

I  saw  him  this  morning  with  a  paper  in  his  hand, 
teaching  something  to  young  M in  the  court- 
house   entry.'     Can    it    be,    thought    I,  that   old 

W ,  the  plaintiff  in  the  case,  was  instructing 

3'oung  M ,  who  was  his  reliable  witness  ? 

"After  dinner   the   court   was   reopened,  and 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  167 

M was  put  on  the  stand.     He  was  examined 

by  the  plaintiff's  counsel,  and  certainly  told  a 
clear,  plain  story,  repudiating  all  knowledge  of 
any  agreement  to  sell.  When  he  had  concluded, 
the  opposite  counsel,  with  a  triumphant  glance, 
turned  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  satisfied. 
'  Not  quite,'  I  replied. 

"  I  had  noticed  a  piece  of   paper  protruding 

from   M 's   pocket,  and   hastily   approaching 

him,  I  seized  it,  before  he  had  the  least  idea  of 
my  intention.  '  Now,'  I  asked,  '  tell  me  if  this 
paper  does  not  detail  the  story  you  have  so  clearly 
told,  and  if  it  is  not  all  false  ?'  The  witness  hung 
down  his  head  with  shame ;  and  when  the  paper 
was  found  to  be  what  I  had  supposed,  and  in  the 

very  hand-writing  of  old  W ,  he  lost  his  case 

at  once.  Nay,  there  was  such  a  storm  of  indig- 
nation against  him,  that  he  soon  removed  to  the 
West. 

"  Years  afterwards,  visiting  New  Hampshire,  I 
was  the  guest  of  my  professional  brethren  at  a 
public  dinner;  and  towards  the  close  of  the 
festivities,  I  was  asked  if  I  would  solve  a  great 
doubt  by  answering  a  question.  '  Certainly.' 
'  Well  then,  Mr.  Webster,  we  have  often  wondered 
how  you  knew  what  was  in  M 's  pocket !' " 


1G8  LIFE     OF 

Another  anecdote  of  Mr.  Webster's  professional 
life  in  Portland  is  characteristic  of  the  man.  One 
of  his  clients,  after  gaining  a  certain  suit,  found 
himself  unable  to  pay  his  lawyer,  and  insisted 
upon  deeding  to  him  a  piece  of  land,  situated  in 
a  neighboring  county.  So,  for  some  years  the 
matter  rested,  until,  happening  to  be  in  the 
neighborhood,  it  occurred  to  Mr.  Webster  to  look 
up  his  property.  He  found  an  old  woman  living 
upon  it  alone,  in  an  old  house  among  the  rocks. 
He  questioned  the  old  lady  about  the  farm,  and 
was  told  tli at  it  was  the  property  of  a  lawyer 
named  Webster,  and  that  she  was  daily  expecting 
him  to  come  and  turn  her  out  of  doors.  Mr. 
Webster  made  himself  known,  assured  her  that 
she  need  not  fear  any  such  summary  process, 
made  her  a  liberal  present,  and  took  his  departure; 
not,  however,  till  he  had  made  her  glad  by 
accepting  her  humble  hospitality.  The  place  is 
still  known  as  "  Webster's  Farm,"  but  it  is  believed 
that  he  never  took  formal  possession  of  the 
property. 

Mr.  Webster  was  now  in  a  position  to  settle 
himself  in  life,  and  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Grace  Fletcher,  a  young  lady  who  had  been 
admitted  to  a  share  in  his  hopes  and  plans,  long 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  1G9 

before  they  had  attained  that  definiteness  which 
they  now  possessed.  She  was  about  his  own  age, 
and  lived  to  share  many  of  his  successes,  and  to 
verify  the  truth  of  their  young  hopes  in  the  fame 
of  her  husband. 

From  the  complexion  of  Mr.  Webster's  early 
orations,  specimens  of  which  we  have  given,  the 
reader  has  perceived  that  he  had  decided  political 
opinions,  and  a  manly  way  of  expressing  them. 
The  early  part  of  the  present  century  was  marked 
by  much  greater  excitement  upon  political  subjects 
than  we  have  witnessed  since.  There  may  have 
been  less  printing  and  publishing,  but  there  was 
deeper  feeling,  for  more  was  at  stake.  The  policy 
and  powers  of  the  government  had  not  been 
settled.  Many  questions  which  are  now  deter- 
mined by  precedent,  had  then  to  be  decided  for 
the  first  time.  And,  in  the  decision,  mere  ab- 
stractions were  not  the  points  at  stake,  but  the 
wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  people  and  the  very 
existence  of  the  government.  The  great  European 
powers,  at  war  with  each  other,  were  disposed  to 
treat  this  country  as  a  mere  colonial  dependency 
of  Europe,  and  to  decide  upon  international  rights 
and  questions  without  recognising  her  existence 
as  a  power  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.    Hon. 

15 


170  LIFE     OF 

Edward  Everett,  in  his  memoir  of  Daniel  Webster, 
thus  sketches  the  position  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
parties  within  it. 

"  The  politics  of  the  country  were  in  such  a  state, 
that  there  was  scarcely  any  course  which  could  be 
pursued  with  entire  satisfaction  by  a  patriotic 
young  man,  sagacious  enough  to  penetrate  behind 
mere  party  names  and  to  view  public  questions  in 
their  true  light.  Party  spirit  ran  high ;  errors 
had  been  committed  by  ardent  men  on  both  sides  ; 
and  extreme  opinions  had  been  advanced  on  most 
questions,  which  no  wise  and  well-informed  person 
at  the  present  day  would  be  willing  to  espouse. 
The  United  States,  though  not  actually  drawn  to 
any  great  length  into  the  vortex  of  the  French 
Revolution,  were  powerfully  affected  by  it.  The 
deadly  struggle  of  the  two  great  European  belli- 
gerents, in  which  the  neutral  rights  of  this  country 
were  grossly  violated  by  both,  gave  a  complexion 
to  our  domestic  politics.  A  change  of  administra- 
tion, mainly  resulting  from  difference  of  opinion 
in  respect  to  our  foreign  relations,  had  taken  place 
in  1801.  If  we  may  consider  President  Jefferson's 
inaugural  address  as  the  indication  of  the  principles 
on  which  he  intended  to  conduct  his  administration, 
it  was  his  purpose  to  take  a  new  departure,  and 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  171 

to  disregard  the  former  party  divisions.  l  We 
have,'  said  he,  in  that  eloquent  state  paper, '  called 
by  different  names,  brethren  of  the  same  principle. 
We  are  all  republicans,  we  are  all  federalists.' 

"  At  the  time  these  significant  expressions  were 
uttered,  Mr.  Webster,  at  nineteen,  was  just  leaving 
college,  and  preparing  to  embark  on  the  voyage 
of  life.  A  sentiment  so  liberal  was  not  only  in 
accordance  with  the  generous  temper  of  youth, 
but  highly  congenial  with  the  spirit  of  enlarged 
patriotism  which  has  ever  guided  his  public  course. 
There  is  certainly  no  individual  who  has  filled  a 
prominent  place  in  our  political  history,  who  has 
shown  himself  more  devoted  to  principle,  and  less 
to  party.  While  no  man  has  clung  with  greater 
tenacity  to  the  friendships  which  spring  from 
agreement  in  political  opinions,  no  man  has  been 
less  disposed  to  find  in  these  associations  an  in- 
strument of  monopoly  or  exclusion  in  favor  of 
individuals,  interests,  or  sections  of  the  country. 

"  But,  however  catholic  may  have  been  the 
intentions  and  wishes  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  events  both 
at  home  and  abroad  were  too  strong  for  him, 
and  defeated  that  policy  of  blending  the  two  great 
parties  into  one,  which  has  always  been  a  favorite 
— perhaps  we  may  add  a  visionary  project — with 


172  LIFE     OF 

statesmen  of  elevated  and  generous  characters 
The  aggressions  of  the  belligerents  on  our  neutral 
commerce  still  continued;  and,  by  the  joint  effect 
of  the  French  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  and  the. 
British  Orders  in  Council,  it  was  all  but  swept 
from  the  ocean.  In  this  state  of  things,  two 
courses  were  open  to  the  United  States  as  a  grow- 
ing neutral  power  :  one,  that  of  prompt  resistance 
to  the  aggressive  policy  of  the  belligerents;  the 
other,  that  which  was  called  the  '  restrictive  sys- 
tem,' which  consisted  in  an  embargo  on  our  own 
vessels,  with  a  view  to  withdraw  them  from  the 
grasp  of  the  foreign  cruisers,  and  in  laws  inhibiting 
commercial  intercourse  with  England  and  France. 
There  was  a  division  of  opinion  in  the  cabinet  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  and  in  the  country  at  large.  The 
latter  policy  was  finally  adopted.  It  fell  in  with 
the  general  views  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  against  com- 
mitting the  country  to  the  risks  of  a  foreign  war. 
His  administration  was  also  strongly  pledged  to 
retrenchment  and  economy ;  in  the  pursuit  of 
which  a  portion  of  our  little  navy  had  been 
brought  to  the  hammer,  and  a  species  of  shore 
defence  substituted,  which  can  now  be  thought  of 
only  with  mortification  and  astonishment. 

"Although  the  disci] >line   of  party  was   suffi- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  173 

ciently  strong  to  cause  this  system  of  measures  to 
be  adopted  and  pursued  for  years,  it  was  never 
cordially  approved  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  any  party.  Leading  republicans,  both 
at  the  South  and  the  North,  denounced  it.  With 
Mr.  Jefferson's  retirement  from  office,  it  fell  rapidly 
into  disrepute.  It  continued,  however,  to  form 
the  basis  of  our  party  divisions,  till  the  war  of 
1812.  In  these  divisions,  as  has  been  intimated, 
both  parties  were  in  a  false  position ;  the  one 
supporting  and  forcing  upon  the  country  a  system 
of  measures  not  cordially  approved  of  even  by 
themselves;  the  other,  a  powerless  minority, 
zealously  opposing  those  measures,  but  liable  for 
that  reason  to  be  thought  backward  in  asserting 
the  neutral  rights  of  the  country.  Among  these, 
mature  beyond  his  years,  was  Mr.  Webster." 

We  have  already  quoted,  from  his  Concord 
oration,  his  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  cherish- 
ing and  defending  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
United  States.  New  England  was  deeply  inte- 
rested in  commerce.  New  Hampshire,  with  its 
one  sea-port,  has  in  its  coat-of-arms  a  ship  on  the 
stocks.  The  active  industry  of  New  England, 
without  the  agricultural  facilities  of  other  States, 
Was   necessarily  drawn  into   commerce    and  the 

15* 


1  74  LI  F  E    0 F 

fisheries.  The  commercial  restrictions  which  pre- 
ceded the  war,  fell  heavily  upon  this  portion  of 
the  confederacy;  and  it  is  asking  too  much  of  any 
community,  however  patriotic,  to  demand  their 
hearty  approval  and  advocacy  of  measures  which, 
if  they  benefit  the  country,  do  it  at  the  expense 
of  a  portion  of  the  citizens.  There  is  always  a 
choice  of  measures ;  and  it  is  entirely  too  harsh  a 
judgment  to  say  of  those  who  prefer  one  course 
above  another,  that  they  are  necessarily  deficient 
in  patriotism,  because  they  elect  that  political 
course  which  would  do  them  least  injury. 

The  Bar  has  usually  been,  in  the  United  States, 
the  best  introduction  to  public  life.  The  talents 
and  eloquence  of  lawyers  become  matters  of  pub- 
lic notoriety.  Parties  are  anxious  to  secure  the 
aid  of  talent.  Governments  invite  its  co-operation 
and  assistance.  The  people  at  large  expect  and 
demand  that  the  powers  which  are  exhibited  for  a 
fee,  in  the  cases  of  individuals  before  the  courts, 
should  be  heard  for  love  of  country,  in  behalf  of 
the  nation ;  and  the  natural  and  necessary  ambi- 
tion of  men  who  are  conscious  of  intellectual  gifts, 
and  who  derive  mental  nourishment  from  the 
excitement  of  admiration,  predisposes  them  to 
listen  to  these  calls.     We  are  not  to  wonder,  then, 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.  175 

that  Mr.  Webster  was  early  drawn  into  politics. 
There  is  a  sympathy  between  that  science  and  the 
science  of  law  —  if  indeed  they  may  not  more 
properly  be  treated  as  different  branches  of  the 
same  subject.  But  while  party  spirit  ran  high, 
and  amounted  in  many  cases  to  personal  bitter- 
ness, it  is  but  justice  to  Mr.  Webster  to  say  that  in 
this  respect,  throughout  his  whole  life,  he  kept  a 
watch  upon  himself;  and  his  course  is  unmarked 
by  the  personal  quarrels  which  have  been  the 
unfortunate  incidents  in  the  lives  of  many  other 
statesmen. 

When  he  entered  the  political  arena,  it  was  at 
once  to  be  acknowledged  as  a  leader.  It  was  a 
tribute  to  his  commanding  talents ;  for  he  never 
resorted  to  the  arts  which  designing  men  practise 
to  obtain  popular  favor.  Indeed,  in  this  respect 
he  did  less  to  conciliate  and  win  general  affection 
than  would  have  been  perfectly  allowable.  He 
was  direct  and  bold,  coming  openly  to  what  he 
designed  to  say,  without  circumlocution,  without 
evasion,  and  without  flattery. 

Mr.  Webster  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in 
many  political  gatherings  in  and  near  Portsmouth. 
We  shall  not  particularise,  but  present,  from  the 
account  of  a  witness,  an  idea  of  his  manner  and 


J  76  L  I  F  E     0  F 

his  subject  matter.  The  writer  s<iys  that  he  was 
travelling  through  Portsmouth,  and  was  about  tc 
leave  the  place.  His  carriage  had  been  brought  to 
the  inn  door,  when  the  hostler  said,  "  Sir,  are  you 
going  away  ?  Mr.  Webster  is  to  speak  to-night." 
The  gentleman,  having  heard  this  before  from 
others,  his  equals,  and  finding  even  the  hostler  at 
the  inn  the  admirer  of  Mr.  Webster,  determined 
to  wait,  and  see  and  hear  for  himself  this  man 
who  could  win  "  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of 
people."  He  went  early  to  the  Hall  where  the 
meeting  was  to  be  held,  and  found  it  already  filled 
to  overflowing.  Courtesy  to  a  stranger,  joined, 
perhaps,  to  a  natural  pride  in  their  townsmen, 
induced  members  of  the  crowd  to  give  way,  and 
leave  him  room  to  stand. 

A  tremendous  noise  soon  announced  that  the 
orator  had  arrived  ;  but  upon  the  organization  of 
the  meeting,  several  gentlemen  preceded  Mr. 
Webster.  They  were  listened  to  with  polite 
apathy,  but  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  was 
reserved  for  Daniel  Webster.  When  he  arose  at 
length,  it  was  some  moments  before  the  cheering 
would  permit  him  to  be  heard.  When  order  was 
restored,  he  went  on  with  great  serenity  and  ease 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  177 

with  his  remarks,  without  making  the  slightest 
effort  to  command  applause. 

The  audience  quietly  listened.  Now  and  then 
there  were  murmurs  of  approbation,  which  indi- 
cated that  the  crowd  needed  only  some  one  to  set 
the  example,  to  break  out  into  applause.  But 
every  indication  of  such  a  demonstration  wras 
repressed,  that  all  might  hear;  and  when  the 
speech  closed,  the  pent-up  enthusiasm  broke  out 
in  long  and  heart-felt  demonstrations  of  admira- 
tion. The  speech  was  strong,  gentlemanly,  and 
appropriate,  but  without  a  spark  of  the  dema- 
gogue in  it.  The  gentleman  whose  impressions 
we  are  recording,  says  that  the  most  remarkable 
fact  to  him  was  that  a  promiscuous  audience 
should  have  had  the  good  taste  to  relish  sound, 
close  reasoning,  in  a  place  where  vague  declama- 
tion is  usually  received  with  most  favor. 

But  while  thus  interested  in  public  concerns, 
Mr.  Webster  was  still  indefatigable  in  his  profes- 
sional pursuits.  The  secret  by  which  he  accom- 
plished so  much,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  reminiscence,  given  by  a  legal  gentle- 
man in  Providence,  in  an  address  in  honor  of  his 
memory. 

"I  had  directions  from   a  client,  in   1818  or 


178  LIFE     OF 

1819,  to  consult  him  upon  a  case  of  some  import- 
ance, a  case  in  which  were  presented  numerous 
cross-questions  of  law  and  equity,  so  ensnared 
and  entangled,  that  it  required  days  and  weeks 
of  hard  labor  to  discover  a  channel-way  over  its 
shoals  and  amid  its  rocks.  I  called  on  Mr. 
Webster  on  the  evening  of  my  arrival  in  Boston, 
and  stated  the  case.  He  saw  its  difficulties,  and 
observed  that  the  early  morning  was  the  period 
for  such  a  labor,  and  requested  me  to  meet  him 
in  his  study  at  an  early  hour,  which  I  accordingly 
did. 

"  Before  the  hour  of  dinner  he  had  threaded  all 
the  avenues  and  cross-paths  of  the  labyrinth,  and 
he  gave  an  opinion  so  clear  and  so  comprehensive, 
that  at  the  dinner-table  I  was  induced  to  ask  him 
what  had  been  his  system  of  mental  culture.  He 
gave  me  an  outline,  and  the  reasons  in  support  of 
it.  It  was  this  —  that  so  far  as  training  was  con- 
cerned, the  system  which  experience  had  shown 
to  be  most  conducive  to  physical,  was  equally 
conducive  to  mental  power.  That  the  training 
in  both  cases  should  be  the  same.  That  it  was 
a  law  of  our  natures,  that  the  body  or  the  mind 
that  labored  constantly  must  necessarily  labor 
moderately.     He  instanced  the  race-horse,  which 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  179 

by  occasional  efforts,  in  which  all  its  power  is 
exerted,  followed  by  periods  of  entire  rest,  would 
in  time  add  very  largely  to  its  speed;  and  the 
great  walkers  or  runners  of  our  own  race,  who 
from  small  beginnings,  when  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  a  day  fatigued  them,  would  in  the  end  walk 
off  fifty  miles  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  miles  an 
hour.  I  think  that  he  also  mentioned  the  London 
porter,  who  at  first  staggering  under  a  load  of  150 
or  200  pounds,  would  in  time  walk  off  with  six 
or  eight  hundred  pounds  with  apparent  ease. 
The  same  law  governs  the  mind.  When  em- 
ployed at  all,  all  its  powers  should  be  exerted  to 
its  utmost.  Its  fatigue  should  be  followed  by  its 
entire  rest.  He  stated  that  he  was  generally  in 
his  study  at  five  in  the  morning;  that  whatever 
mental  occupation  employed  him,  he  put  out  all 
his  power;  and  when  his  mental  vision  began 
to  be  obscure,  he  ceased  entirely,  and  resorted  to 
some  amusement  or  light  business  as  a  relaxa- 
tion. I  remember  distinctly  his  quotation  from 
Chesterfield  :  "  Do  one  thing  at  a  time ;  and  what- 
ever is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well." 

Many  write  and  talk  eloquently  of  the  morning, 
who  have  no  practical  knowledge  of  its  beauties 
and  its  salubrity.     Mr.  Webster  acted  as  well  as 


ISO  LIFE     OF 

wrote.  We  subjoin  here  a  letter  written  by  him 
several  years  ago,  and  dated  at  Richmond,  at  five 
o'clock  on  a  Spring  morning. 

"  My  dear  Friend  :  —  Whether  it  be  a  favor  or 
an  annoyance,  you  owe  this  letter  to  my  early 
habits  of  rising.  From  the  hour  marked  at  the 
top  of  this  page,  you  will  naturally  conclude  that 
my  companions  are  not  now  engaging  my  atten- 
tion, as  we  have  not  calculated  on  being  early 
travellers  to-day. 

"  This  city  has  a  pleasant  seat.  It  is  high  ;  the 
James  River  runs  below  it;  and  when  I  went  out, 
an  hour  ago,  nothing  was  heard  but  the  roar  of 
the  Falls.  The  air  is  tranquil,  and  its  tempera- 
ture mild.  It  is  morning,  and  a  morning  sweet 
and  fresh,  and  delightful.  Every  body  knows  the 
morning  in  its  metaphorical  sense,  applied  to  so 
many  occasions.  The  health,  strength,  and 
beauty  of  early  years,  lead  us  to  call  that  period 
the  'morning  of  life.'  Of  a  lovely  young  woman, 
we  say  she  is  '  bright  as  the  morning,'  and  no  one 
doubts  why  Lucifer  is  called  '  son  of  the  morning.' 

"  But  the  morning  itself,  few  people,  inhabitants 
of  cities,  know  any  thing  about.  Among  all  our 
good  peojDle,  not  one  in  a  thousand  sees  the  sun 
rise  once  in  a  year.     They  know  nothing  of  the 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  181 

morning.  Their  idea  of  it  is,  that  it  is  that  part 
of  the  day  which  comes  along  after  a  cup  of  coffee, 
or  a  piece  of  toast.  With  them  morning  is  not  a 
new  issuing  of  light,  a  new  bursting  forth  of  the 
gun,  a  new  waking  up  of  all  that  has  life  from  a 
sort  of  temporary  death,  to  behold  again  the  works 
of  God,  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  it  is  only  a 
part  of  the  domestic  day,  belonging  to  reading  the 
newspapers,  answering  notes,  sending  the  children 
to  school,  and  giving  orders  for  dinner.  The  first 
streak  of  light,  the  earliest  purpling  of  the  East, 
which  the  lark  springs  up  to  greet,  and  the  deeper 
and  deeper  coloring  into  orange  and  red,  till  at 
length  the  'glorious  sun  is  seen,  regent  of  day' — 
this  they  never  enjoy,  for  they  never  see  it. 

"  Beautiful  descriptions  of  morning  abound  in 
all  languages,  but  they  are  the  strongest,  perhaps, 
in  the  East,  where  the  sun  is  frequently  the  object 
of  worship.  King  David  speaks  of  taking  ta 
himself  '  the  wings  of  the  morning.'  This  is 
highly  poetical  and  beautiful.  The  wings  of  the 
morning  are  the  beams  of  the  rising  sun.  It  is 
thus  said  that  the  sun  of  righteousness  shall  arise 
'  with  healing  in  his  wings'  —  a  rising  that  shall 
scatter  life,  and  health,  and  joy,  throughout  the 
Universe.     Milton  has  fine  descriptions  of  morn- 

16 


182  LIFE    OF 

ing,  but  not  so  many  as  Shakspeare,  from  whose 
writings  pages  of  the  most  beautiful  imagery,  all 
founded  on  the  glory  of  morning,  might  be  ful- 
filled. 

"  I  never  thought  that  Adam  had  much  the 
advantage  of  us,  from  having  seen  the  world  while 
it  was  new.  The  manifestations  of  the  power  of 
God,  like  His  mercies,  are  '  new  every  morning,' 
and  fresh  every  moment.  We  see  as  fine  risings 
of  the  sun  as  Adam  ever  saw ;  and  its  risings  are 
as  much  a  miracle  now  as  they  were  in  his  day, 
and  I  think  a  good  deal  more;  because  it  is  now 
a  part  of  the  miracle  that  for  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  years  he  has  come  to  his  appointed  time, 
without  the  variation  of  a  millionth  part  of  a 
second.  Adam  could  not  tell  how  this  might  be. 
I  know  the  morning  —  I  am  acquainted  with  it, 
and  I  love  it.  I  love  it  fresh  and  sweet  as  it  is — 
a  daily  new  creation,  breaking  forth  and  calling 
all  that  have  life,  and  breath,  and  being,  to  new 
adoration,  new  enjoyments,  and  new  gratitude." 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  183 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Mr.  Webster  a  Candidate  for  Congress  —  His  account  of  his  Ser- 
vices in  the  State  Legislature — Mr.  Webster  elected  Represen- 
tative from  New  Hampshire  —  Appointed  a  Member  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  —  Mr.  Webster's  First  Speech  — 
Resolution  of  Inquiry  relative  to  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees 
— Character  and  Impression  of  Mr.  Webster's  Speech — Remarks 
upon  the,Navy  and  the  Embargo — Loss  of  Mr.  Webster's  House 
by  Fire — Re-elected  to  Congress — Position  of  the  Country  after 
the  War — Attitude  of  the  South  towards  a  Tariff — Mr.  Webster's 
Course  on  the  Bank  and  Tariff  Questions  —  Death  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster's Mother. 

In  1812,  Mr.  Webster  having  reached  thirty 
years,  the  age  which  the  Constitution  requires, 
was  brought  forward  by  his  friends  as  a  candidate 
for  Representative  from  New  Hampshire,  in  the 
National  Legislature.  His  whole  public  life  has 
oeen  sj)ent  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
In  allusion  to  this  subject,  he  said  in  a  speech  to 
the  citizens  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y. : 

"It  has  so  happened  that  all  the  public  services 
which  I  have  rendered  in  the  world,  in  my  day 
and   generation,  have    been   connected  with   the 


184  LIFE    OF 

general  government.  1  think  I  ought  to  make  an 
exception.  I  was  ten  days  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  (laughter),  and  I  turned 
my  thoughts  to  the  search  of  some  good  object  in 
which  I  could  be  useful  in  that  position;  and  aftei 
much  reflection,  I  introduced  a  bill  which,  with 
the  general  consent  of  both  Houses  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Legislature,  passed  into  a  law,  and  is  now 
a  law  of  the  State,  which  enacts  that  no  man  in 
the  State  shall  catch  trout  in  any  other  than  the 
old  way,  with  an  ordinary  hook  and  line.  (Great 
laughter.)  With  that  exception,  I  never  was 
connected,  for  an  hour,  with  any  State  govern- 
ment in  my  life.  I  never  held  office,  high  or  low, 
under  any  State  government.  Perhaps  that  was 
my  misfortune. 

"  At  the  age  of  thirty  I  was  in  New  Hamp- 
shire practising  law,  and  had  some  clients.  John 
Taylor  Gilnian,  who  for  fourteen  years  was 
governor  of  the  State,  thought  that,  a  young 
man  as  I  was,  I  might  be  fit  to  be  an  Attorney 
General  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  and  he 
nominated  me  to  the  Council ;  and  the  Council, 
taking  it  in  their  deep  consideration,  and  not 
happening  to  be  of  the  same  politics  as  the 
governor  and  myself,   voted,  three  to  one,  that  1 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  185 

was  not  competent,  and  very  likely  they  were 
right.  (Laughter.)  So  you  see,  gentlemen,  I 
never  gained  promotion  under  any  State  govern- 
ment." 

The  people,  however,  thought  that  Mr.  Webster 
was  fit  to  represent  his  native  State  in  Congress. 
The  ticket  upon  which  his  name  led  was  elected 
by  a  majoilty  of  from  two  to  three  thousand. 
The  contest  was  close.  The  election  was  then  by 
"  general  tit  ket,"  all  the  names  being  placed  on 
one  ballot,  and  the  vote  of  the  whole  State 
requiring  to  be  ascertained,  before  it  could  be 
known  who  was  elected.  Those  were  not  the 
days  of  raih  oads  and  magnetic  telegraphs,  and 
suspense  play  id  with  the  fears  and  hopes  of  those 
who  felt  an  iiiterest  in  the  the  contest.  When  at 
length  it  was  ascertained  that  the  "  Federal 
ticket,"  on  which  Mr.  Webster's  name  was  borne, 
was  elected,  the  rejoicings  of  the  townsmen  and 
immediate  constituents  was  very  great.  It  was 
unquestionably  a  great  triumph  to  Mr.  Webster ; 
and  his  brother  Ezekiel  shared  his  pleasure. 
Joseph,  the  waggish  brother,  who  would  by  this 
have  perceived  that  Daniel  was  admitted  to 
"know  as  much  as  do  the  rest  of  his  family," 
died  two  years  previously.     He  was  a  genial  and 

16* 


186  LIFE     OF 

kind-hearted    man,   and    his    brothers   deeply  la- 
mented him.     • 

Col.  Samuel  L.  Knapp,  one  of  the  earliest  biog- 
raphers of  Mr.  Webster,  thus  speaks  of  his 
personal  character  and  opinions  upon  his  entrance 
into  public  life.  "  Fully  persuaded  of  the  true 
course,  he  followed  it  with  so  much  firmness  and 
principle,  that  sometimes  his  serenity  was  taken 
by  the  furious  and  headstrong  as  apathy;  but 
when  a  fair  legitimate  opportunity  offered,  he 
came  out  with  such  strength  and  manliness,  that 
the  doubting  were  satisfied,  and  the  complaining 
silenced.  In  the  worst  of  times,  and  in  the  dark- 
est hour,  he  had  faith  in  the  redeeming  qualities 
of  the  people.  They  might  be  wrong ;  but  he  saw 
into  their  true  character  sufficiently  to  believe  that 
they  would  never  remain  permanently  in  error. 
In  some  of  his  conversations  upon  the  subject, 
he  compared  the  people  in  their  management  of 
national  affairs  to  that  of  the  sagacious  and  indefa- 
tigable raftsmen  on  his  own  Merrimack,  who  had 
falls  and  shoals  to  contend  with  on  their  way  to 
the  ocean ;  guiding  skilfully  and  fearlessly  ovei 
the  former,  between  rocks  and  through  breaks, 
and  when  reaching  the  sand-banks,  jumping  off 
into  the  water  with  lever,  axe,  and  oar,  and  then 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  187 

pushing,  cutting,  and  directing,  till  they  made  all 
go,  to  the  astonishment  of  those  looking  on. 

Mr.  Webster  took  his  seat  in  Congress  at  the 
extra  session  of  1813.  He  had  prepared  himself 
for  his  post  as  a  legislator,  as  he  was  accustomed 
always  to  prepare  himself  for  any  new  position, 
by  careful  examination  of  the  duties  it  would 
impose,  their  nature,  and  his  capacity  for  them. 
Mr.  Clay,  one  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  war 
party,  had  come  into  the  House  upon  that 
impulse,  and  was  elected  Speaker  by  a  large 
majority.  Mr.  Webster,  the  known  representa- 
tive of  a  different  interest,  was  by  the  Speaker 
placed  upon  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  at 
such  a  juncture  the  most  important  committee  in 
the  House.  His  fellow-members  were  Calhoun, 
Grundy,  Jackson  of  Virginia,  and  Ingersoll  and 
Fish  of  New  York.  Whether  this  appointment 
was  the  consequence  of  some  rumors  of  his  talents, 
then  little  known  in  Washington,  and  entirely 
untried  everywhere,  as  a  legislator,  or  whether 
Mr.  Clay,  bound  in  courtesy  to  give  New  England 
a  voice,  chose  Mr.  Webster  as  a  new  member,  and 
not  obnoxious  from  any  previous  Congressional 
passages,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Undoubtedly, 
both  reasons  had  their  weight. 


188  LIFE     OF 

Mr.  Webster's  first  speech  in  Congress  was  made 
in  introducing  a  series  of  resolutions,  requesting 
the  President  to  inform  the  House  when,  and  by 
whom,  and  in  what  manner  the  first  intelligence 
of  the  repeal  of  the  Decrees  of  Berlin  and  Milan 
was  given  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
The  object  of  these  resolutions  was  to  elicit  a 
communication  on  this  subject  from  the  Executive 
which  would  unfold  the  proximate  causes  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  so  far  as  they  were  con- 
nected with  these  decrees.  No  full  report  of  this, 
Mr.  Webster's  maiden  speech  in  Congress,  has  ever 
been  published.  The  resolutions  involved  nice 
points  of  inquiry,  and  produced  a  long  debate  — 
an  event  unforeseen  and  undesired  by  Mr.  Web- 
ster. The  first  Orders  in  Council  of  Great  Britain, 
were  issued  in  retaliation  for  the  Berlin  Decree  of 
Napoleon.  The  French  answered  by  the  Milan 
Decree,  and  the  British  retaliated  by  further 
Orders  in  Council.  The  operation  of  both  was  to 
destrov  the  commerce  of  neutrals  altogether:  for 
while  the  English  decrees  made  vessels  liable  to 
seizure  which  did  not  touch  at  a  British  port  and 
obtain  what  amounted  to  a  new  clearance,  the 
French  decree  "denationalised"  all  vessels  which 
submitted  to  any  such  recognition  of  British  supre- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  189 

mac}'.  Between  the  two  fires,  neutral  commerce 
could  not  fail  to  be  destroyed.  The  British  Orders 
were  conditional  in  their  operation,  ceasing  upon 
the  revocation  of  the  French  decrees ;  and  one  of 
the  causes  of  complaint  against  Great  Britain  was, 
that  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees  were  repealed, 
while  Great  Britain  still  refused  to  rescind  the 
Orders  in  Council.  The  American  diplomatists 
insisted  that  the  French  decrees  had  ceased  to 
exist ;  but  the  French  Government  failed  to  sup- 
ply any  proof  of  the  fact,  until  after  war  was 
actually  declared  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  Then,  a  document  bearing  a 
previous  date  was  produced.  Everything,  even 
to  this  day,  is  involved  in  doubt,  except  the  fact 
that  the  two  belligerents,  in  their  war  of  annoy- 
ance against  each  other,  cared  nothing  about  the 
United  States  or  their  commerce ;  and  the  farther 
fact  that  the  French  Government  did  not  hesitate 
to  employ  falsehoods,  evasions,  and  forged  state 
papers,  by  which  an  unsatisfactory  and  half-way 
revocation  of  her  Orders  was  procured  from  Great 
Britain  —  the  administration  of  that  country 
yielding  it  with  about  as  good  a  grace  as  a  man 
would  pay  a  check  which  he  had  strong  suspicions 
was  counterfeit. 


190  LIFE     OF 

No  full  report  of  Mr.  Webster's  speech  has  been 
preserved.  We  gather,  from  extemporaneous 
accounts,  that  he  placed  in  juxtaposition  the  con- 
liicting  statements  and  evidence.  The  response 
to  the  resolutions,  after  they  had  been  the  subject 
of  several  weeks'  debate,  was  a  full  report  to  the 
House  of  all  that  they  called  for,  the  majority  for 
their  passage  being  large.  The  debate  was  not  so 
much  upon  the  expediency  of  the  resolutions,  as 
upon  the  general  subject.  It  took  a  wide  range ; 
but  after  his  opening  speech,  Mr.  Webster  did  not 
address  the  House  upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  March,  who  has  carefully  collated  the 
newspaper  reports,  and  the  reminiscences  of  those 
who  were  present  at  Daniel  Webster's  first  appear- 
ance as  a  parliamentary  orator,  gives  a  graphic 
and  animated  account  of  it.  Mr.  Webster  dis- 
plaj^ed  a  cautious  regard  for  facts,  a  philosophical 
moderation  of  tone,  a  fulness  of  knowledge,  and 
an  aptness  of  historical  illustration,  which  asto- 
nished the  House.  There  was  no  exaggeration 
of  statement  or  argument  —  no  sophistry  or  un- 
called-for rhetoric.  Upon  the  subject  of  interna 
tional  law,  he  was  well  read;  and  the  science 
which  so  few  country  lawyers  would  have  thought 
it  necessary  to   become    proficient  in,  now  stood 


DAJSTIEL     WEBSTER.  191 

him  in  gieat  stead.  The  oldest  parliamentarian 
could  not  have  exhibited  more  propriety  and 
decency  of  manner  and  language,  nor  the  most 
able  logic  been  more  perspicacious  and  convincing. 
There  was  a  harmony,  between  his  thought  and 
its  expression,  that  won  attention,  and  compelled 
admiration.  His  opening  was  simple,  unaffected, 
and  without  pretension ;  gradually  gaining  the 
confidence  of  his  audience  by  its  transparent  sin- 
cerity, and  freedom  from  any  attempt  at  display. 
As  the  orator  continued,  and  grew  animated,  his 
words  became  more  fluent,  and  his  language  more 
nervous;  a  crowd  of  thoughts  seemed  rushing 
upon  him,  all  eager  for  utterance.  He  held  them, 
however,  under  the  command  of  his  mind,  as 
greyhounds  with  a  leash,  till  he  reached  the  close 
of  his  speech,  when,  warmed  by  the  previous  re- 
straint, he  poured  them  all  forth,  one  after  ano- 
ther, in  glowing  language. 

The  speech  took  the  House  by  surprise,  not  so 
much  from  its  eloquence,  as  from  the  vast  amount 
of  historical  knowledge  and  illustrative  ability 
displayed  in  it.  How  a  person,  untrained  to 
forensic  contests,  and  unused  to  public  affairs, 
could  exhibit  so  much  parliamentary  tact,  such 
nice  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  of  a  difficult 


102  LIFE     OF 

question,  and  such  quiet  facility  in  surmounting 
them,  puzzled  the  mind.  The  youth  and  inexpe- 
rience of  the  speaker  had  prepared  the  House  tor 
no  such  performance,  and  astonishment  for  a  time 
subdued  the  expression  of  admiration. 

As  in  previous  cases  wife  re  Mr.  Webster  had 
appeared  in  an  arena  new  to  him,  he  at  once  took 
his  position  among  the  first.  It  maj7  probably  be 
safely  said  that  no  other  member,  before  or  since, 
ever  made  so  profound  an  impression  in  an  open- 
ing speech.  Members  left  their  seats,  and  stood 
or  sat  in  front  of  him ;  and  when  it  was  over 
many  went  up  and  congratulated  the  orator. 
Chief-Justice  Marshall,  who  was  among  his  hear- 
ers, says :  "  I  did  not  at  that  time  know  Mr. 
Webster,  but  I  was  so  much  struck  with  the 
speech,  that  I  did  not  hesitate  then  to  state  that 
Mr.  Webster  was  a  very  able  man,  and  would 
become  one  of  the  very  first  statesman  in  America; 
perhaps  the  very  first." 

It  was  during  Mr.  Webster's  service  in  the  thir- 
teenth Congress,  that  Mr.  Lowndes  made  of  him 
the  remark  which,  by  its  terseness  and  strength, 
became  everywhere  familiar.  "  The  North  has 
not  his  equal,  nor  the  South  his  superior."  lie 
did  not  intrude    himself   into  every  debate,  but 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  193 

wisely  reserved  his  powers  for  the  subjects  which 
he  had  well  considered,  and  in  which  he  felt  the 
deepest  interest.  We  have  already  indicated  his 
feelings  upon  the  subject  of  commerce  and  an 
increase  of  the  navy.  While  not  an  advocate  of 
the  war,  and  particularly  opposed  to  the  mode  in 
which  it  was  conducted,  and  the  policy  of  the 
government,  he  never  refused  his  vote  to  any 
measure  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  His 
freedom  from  the  bitterness  of  party  spirit  pre- 
vented his  partaking  in  the  extravagance  which 
was  exhibited  on  both  sides  by  men  of  greater 
zeal  and  less  prudence.  There  are  no  such  fiery 
passages  in  his  speeches,  no  such  heated  personal 
attacks  as  mar  the  pleasure  with  which  we  look 
over  the  earlier  speeches  of  Henry  Clay.  We 
present  some  extracts  from  his  speeches  on  the 
increase  of  the  navy,  and  the  true  policy  of  our 
country,  as  it  was  afterwards  vindicated  by  our 
gallant  navy. 

"  The  humble  aid,"  he  said,  "  which  it  would  be 
in  my  power  to  render  to  measures  of  Government, 
shall  be  given  cheerfully,  if  Government  will  pursue 
measures  which  I  can  conscientiously  support.  If 
even  now,  failing  in  an  honest  and  sincere  attempt 
to  procure  an  honorable  peace,  it  will  return  to 

17 


194  LIFE    OF 

measures  of  defence  and  protection,  such  as  reason 
and  common  sense  and  the  public  opinion  all  call 
for,  my  vote  shall  not  be  withheld  from  the  means. 
Give  up  your  futile  projects  of  invasion.  Extin- 
guish the  fires  which  blaze  on  your  inland  frontiers. 
Establish  perfect  safety  and  defence  there  by 
adequate  force.  Let  every  man  that  sleeps  on 
your  soil  sleep  in  security.  Stop  the  bleed  that 
flows  from  the  veins  of  unarmed  yeomanry  and 
women  and  children.  Give  to  the  living  time  to 
bury  and  lament  their  dead,  in  the  quietness  of 
private  sorrow.  Having  performed  this  work  of 
beneficence  and  mercy  on  your  inland  borders, 
turn  and  look  with  the  eye  of  justice  and  com- 
passion on  your  vast  population  along  the  coast. 
Unclench  the  iron  grasp  of  your  embargo.  Take 
measures  for  that  end  before  another  sun  sets  upon 
you.  With  all  the  war  of  the  enemy  upon  your 
commerce,  if  you  would  cease  to  make  war  upon 
it  yourselves,  you  would  still  have  some  commerce. 
That  commerce  would  give  you  some  revenue. 
Apply  that  revenue  to  the  augmentation  of  your 
navy.  That  navy  in  turn  will  protect  your  com- 
merce. Let  it  no  longer  be  said,  that  not  one  ship 
of  force,  built  by  your  hands  since  the  war,  yet 
floats  upon  the  ocean.     Turn  the  current  of  your 


DANIEL   WEBSTER.  195 

efforts  into  the  channel  which  public  sentiment 
has  already  worn  broad  and  deep  to  receive  it.  A 
naval  force,  competent  to  defend  your  coasts 
against  considerable  armaments,  to  convoy  your 
trade  and  perhaps  raise  the  blockade  of  your  rivers, 
is  not  a  chimera.  It  may  be  realized.  If,  then, 
the  war  must  continue,  go  to  the  ocean.  If  you 
are  seriously  contending  for  maritime  rights,  go 
to  the  theatre  where  alone  those  rights  can  be 
defended.  Thither  every  indication  of  your  future 
points  you.  There  the  united  wishes  and  exertions 
of  the  nation  will  go  with  you.  Even  our  party 
divisions,  acrimonious  as  they  are,  cease  at  the 
water's  edge.  They  are  lost  in  attachment  to  the 
national  character,  on  the  element  where  that 
character  is  made  respectable.  In  protecting  naval 
interests  by  naval  means,  you  well  arm  yourselves 
with  the  whole  power  of  national  sentiment,  and 
may  command  the  whole  abundance  of  the  na- 
tional resources.  In  time  you  may  be  able  to 
redress  injuries  in  the  place  where  they  may  be 
offered ;  and,  if  need  be,  to  accompany  your  own 
flag,  throughout  the  world,  with  the  protection  of 
your  own  cannon." 

While  Mr.  Webster  was  in  Washington,  in  the 
winter  of  1813-14,  his  house  took  fire,  and  was 


19G  LIFE    OF 

entirely  burned,  with  nearly  all  its  contents. 
Upon  his  first  bringing  his  wife  to  Portsmouth,  in 
1808,  he  took  lodgings  hi  the  house  of  a  widow 
lady,  and  at  length  purchased  of  her  the  dwelling 
and  furniture.  lie  had  just  completed  the  pay- 
ment when  this  misfortune  occurred,  and  the  loss 
was  a  total  one,  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Webster  was 
uninsured.  Thus  were  swept  away  the  young 
lawyer's  savings  from  the  nine  or  ten  years  of  a 
laborious,  but  not  very  lucrative,  pursuit  of  his 
profession  in  New  Hampshire.  And  there  were 
some  losses  which  money  could  not  replace  —  his 
manuscript  collections  and  library.  This  disaster 
confirmed  the  purpose  which  he  had  commenced 
to  entertain,  of  removing  his  residence  to  a  wider 
field,  where  the  increase  of  his  profession  would 
bear  a  more  satisfactory  proportion  to  his  labors. 
But  the  execution  of  this  intention  was  for  some 
time  delayed.  The  intervals  between  the  Con- 
gressional sessions  he  devoted  to  assiduous  atten- 
tion to  his  legal  duties. 

In  1814,  he  was  reelected  to  Congress,  the  term 
commencing  on  the  4th  of  March  next  following. 
The  bitterness  of  party  feeling  had  now  abated. 
The  war  was  over ;  the  successes  of  the  gallant 
little    United   States   navy,   and   the   victory  of 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  197 

General  Jackson  at  New  Orleans,  had  comforted 
the  national  pride,  bitterly  wounded  by  the  dis- 
astrous commencement  of  the  contest.  The  war 
party  were  thus  spared  the  taunts  of  excited 
opponents,  which,  in  the  early  stages  of  hostilities, 
were  bitter  enough ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
national  exultation  was  sufficiently  checked  by 
the  disastrous  result  of  the  Canadian  invasion, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  public  buildings  at 
Washington.  There  could  not  have  been  better 
consequences  than  this  war  produced.  There  was 
not  that  unmixed  success  in  its  prosecution  which 
would  have  fostered  the  war-spirit,  so  fatal  to  the 
virtue  and  happiness  of  any  country,  and  particu- 
ularly  unfitted  to  the  genius  and  character  of 
republican  institutions.  And  on  the  other  hand, 
the  nation,  still  in  its  infancy,  had  demonstrated 
by  its  manly  struggles  that  it  would  not  submit 
to  the  fate  which  commercial  usage  had  until 
then  imposed  upon  nations  of  secondary  power. 
The  history  of  the  world  before  this  time  had 
shown  that  the  smaller  powers  must  rank  them- 
selves as  allies  of  one  or  the  other  party,  when 
the  greater  nations  choose  to  go  to  war ;  or  that, 
in  default  of  such  active  participation,  they  must 
submit  to  be  the  prey  of  both  belligerents;  and 

17* 


198  LIFE    OF 

without  the  power  of  successful  resistance,  be 
used,  now  by  one  and  now  by  the  other,  as  a  por- 
tion of  their  material  of  war.  This  was  .  the 
manner  in  which  Britain  and  France  undertook 
to  deal  with  America.  According  to  all  precedent 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  they  considered  the 
United  States  only  as  a  means  of  mutual  annoy- 
ance, without  the  slightest  regard  to  the  interest, 
honor,  or  desires  of  the  the  Americans  in  the 
matter.  It  was  only  a  few  men  of  leading  minds 
in  the  United  States,  like  Webster  and  some  of 
his  compeers,  who  could  discern  the  true  question 
at  stake.  The  others,  and  the  newspaper  poli- 
ticians and  small  caucus  statesmen  especially, 
mutually  accused,  and  in  too  many  cases,  bitterly 
reviled  each  other  as  partisans  of  England  or  of 
France.  They  discerned  no  other  course  which 
the  nation  could  take,  than  to  become  the  adherent 
of  one  side  or  the  other.  Mr.  Webster,  as  early 
as  1800,  as  the  reader  may  perceive  by  referring 
to  his  Hanover  oration,  repudiated  the  secondary 
place  in  which  such  narrow  views  would  have 
lixed  his  native  land,  and  scorned  the  idea  that 
this  continent  must  be  regarded  as  a  satellite  to 
the  other.  The  bitterness  of  party  spirit,  which, 
during  the  war  and  the  years  preceding  it,  seemed 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  199 

to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  confederacy, 
was  among  the  causes  which  preserved  it.  A 
cordial  unanimity  in  enmity  to  either  of  the  great 
European  powers  would  have  made  this  country 
the  vassal  of  the  othei.  The  divisions  which 
existed  prevented  this.  England  was  warred 
against  —  France  was  not  fraternised  with.  The 
dominant  party  in  the  nation  produced  the  one 
course  —  the  sturdy  and  talented  opposition  party 
guarded  against  the  other. 

With  the  restoration  of  peace  in  Europe,  party 
spirit  subsided  in  America.  In  the  Fourteenth 
Congress,  men  met  to  discuss  questions  which 
were  not,  at  that  time,  subjects  of  such  sectional 
feeling  as  they  have  since  become.  The  leading 
measures  which  were  brought  forward,  were  a 
national  bank,  internal  improvement,  and  a  pro- 
tective tariff.  The  Bank  was  a  Pennsylvania 
measure ;  the  others  were  the  favorite  policy  of 
Southern  members,  who  have  since  so  zealously 
arrayed  themselves  in  opposition.  In  relation  to 
the  subject  of  a  National  Bank,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  when  it  was  proposed,  previous  to  Mr.  Web- 
ster's election  to  Congress,  to  re-charter  the  first 
United  States  Bank,  all  the  Republicans  voted 
against  it,  and  all  the  Federalists,  with  whom  Air. 


200  LIFE     OF 

Webster  acted,  voted  in  its  favor.  When  the 
subject  came  up  again,  upon  the  question  of  the 
creation  of  a  new  bank,  the  Republicans  were  in 
favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  Federalists,  in- 
cluding Mr.  Webster,  voted  against  it.  His 
cardinal  objection  may  be  said  to  be  based  on 
these  facts — or  on  the  cause  which  produced  these 
facts — the  participation  of  the  Government  in  the 
management  of  the  bank.  Although  he  failed  in 
procuring  an  amendment  divorcing  Bank  and 
State,  there  were  others,  of  great  value,  which  he 
introduced  and  carried.  He  also  brought  forward 
a  resolution,  which  was  passed,  and  tended  at  once 
to  raise  the  reputation  of  the  Bank,  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  currency,  and  to  put  the  finances  of 
the  United  States  on  a  proper  specie  basis.  It 
required  all  debts  due  to  the  United  States  to  be 
paid  in  gold  or  silver,  in  treasury-notes,  in  the 
notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  in  the 
paper  of  some  other  specie-paying  institution. 

In  regard  to  the  tariff,  Mr.  Webster  was  found 
among  the  opposers  of  the  principle  of  protection. 
This  principle  was  established,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  by  Southern  influence ;  and  prominent 
among  its  supporters  was  the  great  Southern 
statesman,    Mr.  Calhoun,   whose    enmity    to    the 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  201 

child  of  his  own  nursing  was  afterward  so  intense, 
as  to  lead  to  the  attempt  at  nullification. 

To  deny  the  expediency  and  wisdom  of  a  mea- 
sure, is  not  to  deny  its  constitutionality.  To  deny 
the  benefits  of  a  contemplated  course  of  policy,  is 
not  to  deny  the  power  of  the  Government  to  take 
that  course.  Mr.  Webster  was  undecided  as  to 
the  power  of  Government  to  lay  protective  duties, 
but  quite  decided  against  the  expediency  of  im- 
posing a  protective  tariff.  The  interests  he 
represented  would  be  injuriously  affected  by  it. 
He  stated  the  case  hypothetically  thus :  If  the 
right  of  laying  duties  for  protection  were  derived 
from  the  revenue  power,  it  was  of  necessity  inci- 
dental ;  and,  on  that  assumption,  as  the  incident 
cannot  go  beyond  that  to  which  it  is  incidental, 
duties  avowedly  for  protection,  and  not  having 
any  reference  to  revenue,  could  not  be  constitu- 
tionally laid.  The  practice  of  the  Government 
settled  the  constitutional  question.  The  passage 
of  laws  for  the  protection  of  manufactures  diverted 
a  large  amount  of  the  capital  of  the  country  into 
the  channel  of  manufactures ;  and  Mr.  Webster 
thereafter  supported  the  plan  of  a  moderate  degree 
of  protection  as  the  settled  policy  of  the  country. 
It  is  a  settled  policy  which  any  industrious  people 


202  LIFE     OF 

need.  Enterprise  can  shape  itself  to  the  fixed 
measures  of  any  wise  government ;  but  no  enter- 
prise, and  no  industry,  can  thrive  under  frequent 
vital  changes. 

In  April,  1816,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  died 
Daniel  Webster's  mother.  She  had  prophesied  in 
his  infancy  his  future  distinction ;  and  she  lived 
to  see  her  words  verified.  It  is  asserted  by  those 
who  knew  her,  that  Mr.  Webster's  extraordinary 
genius  resembled  his  mother's,  who  was  a  woman 
of  far  more  than  ordinary  intellect.  She  was  a 
woman  of  the  warmest  affections,  and  lived  for 
her  husband  and  children.  Remarkable  for  her 
piety,  and  all  that  renders  the  character  of  woman 
estimable,  she  was  respected  by  all  who  knew 
her,  and  venerated  by  her  children.  Among  the 
choice  specimens  of  art  which  adorned  the  library 
of  Daniel  Webster  at  Marsh  field,  the  object  which 
oftenest  caught  the  statesman's  eye  in  his  retire- 
ment, was  a  small  profile,  cut  in  black,  as  was  the 
custom  many  years  ago ;  under  it  are  the  words, 
in  the  son's  haHfTritingj  "My  Excellent  Mother. 
D  W." 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  203 


CHAPTER  X. 

Mr.  Webster's  removal  to  Boston — His  entrance  upon  Professional 
life  in  that  Metropolis  —  His  manner  at  the  Bar  —  Personal 
Characteristics  —  Death  of  his  child  —  The  Dartmouth  College 
Case  —  Mr.  Webster  as  a  Constitutional  Lawyer  —  The  United 
States  Supreme  Court — Dartmouth  and  the  Indians — The  Nan- 
tucket Friend  —  Summary  of  his  Professional  career. 

In  1816,  Mr.  Webster  removed  from  Portsmouth 
to  Boston.  He  had  frequently  appeared  as  counsel 
in  the  courts  of  Massachusetts,  and  he  had 
become,  both  by  his  Congressional  and  legal  career, 
well-known  to  the  citizens  of  the  New  England 
metropolis.  Its  leading  merchants  knew  and  were 
ready  to  employ  him.  A  pleasant  joke  of  Mr. 
Webster's,  which,  among  all  the  anecdotes  and 
reminiscences  his  death  has  called  up,  we  have 
never  seen  in  print,  had  reference  to  his  leaving 
New  Hampshire.  On  some  complimentary  occa- 
sion, when,  as  was  much  more  the  custom 
formerly  than  at  present,  everything  anl  every- 
body was   the  subject  of  a  "  toast"  or  a  "  senti- 


204  LIFE     OF 

raent,"  Mr.  Webster  was  called  out  as  a  native  of 
the  Granite  State.  He  gave  in  reply,  "  New 
Hampshire  ■ — A  very  good  State  to  go  from !" 

Colonel  Samuel  L.  Knapp,  who,  some  eighteen 
or  twenty  years  ago,  was  celebrated  in  Boston  for 
his  biographical  notes  of  the  living,  and  his  obitu 
ary  notices  of  the  dead,  speaks  in  the  following 
terms  of  Mr.  Webster's  professional  commence- 
ment in  Boston.  The  fervor  of  Colonel  Knapp'a 
style  of  praise  was  not  always  so  well  borne  out. 
by  the  subject  as  in  the  present  case ;  and  the 
high  color  of  his  painting  would  sometimes  have 
led  the  reader  to  suspect  his  sincerity,  if  he  had 
not  been  personally  known  as  one  of  the  kindest 
and  most  amiable  of  men. 

"  Boston  was  then  the  residence  of  .some  of  the 
first  lawyers  of  the  nation ;  such  men,  for  instance, 
as  Dexter,  Prescott,  Otis,  Sullivan,  Shaw,  Gorham, 
and  Hubbard,  and  there  seemed  to  be  little  room 
for  another  in  the  upper  class  of  the  legal 
fraternity ;  but  Mr.  Webster  seemed  to  walk  into 
this  distinguished  company  like  one  who  had  a 
right ;  and  though  many  opened  wide  their  eyes, 
none  dared  to  question  his  right  to  be  there.  In 
a  very  few  months  his  name  appeared  as  senior 
counsel    in    many    important    causes ;     and    he 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  205 

deported  himself  like  one  who  was  simply  enjoy- 
ing his  birthright.  His  practice  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  county  of  Suffolk,  but  extended  to 
the  neighboring  counties,  and  to  the  interior  of 
the  State.  His  powers  as  an  advocate  and  a 
lawyer  were  at  once  conceded,  though  some 
found  fault  with  his  manners  at  the  Bar  as  a  little 
too  severe  and  sharp ;  this,  however,  was  soon 
forgotten  in  the  admiration  which  everywhere 
followed  him.  The  people  were  always  with  him, 
and  few  had  the  hardihood  to  declare  themselvea 
his  rivals. 

"  As  were  his  manners  at  the  Bar  at  this  time, 
so  were  they  through  his  life,  whenever  he 
appeared  in  a  deliberative  assembly.  He  began 
to  state  his  points  in  a  low  voice,  and  in  a  slow, 
cool,  cautious,  and  deliberative  manner.  If  the 
case  was  of  importance,  he  went  on,  hammering 
out,  link  by  link,  his  chain  of  argument,  with 
ponderous  blows,  leisurely  inflicted ;  and  while 
thus  at  labor,  you  rather  saw  the  sinews  of  the 
arm  than  the  skill  of  the  artist.  It  was  in  reply, 
however,  that  he  came  out  in  the  majesty  of 
intellectual  grandeur,  and  poured  forth  the  opu- 
lence of  his  mind ;  it  was  when  the  arrows  of  the 
enemy  had  hit  him,  that  he  was  all  might  and 

18 


206  LIFE     OF 

soul,  and  showered  his  words  of  weight  and  fire. 
His  style  of  oratory  was  founded  on  no  model,  but 
was  entirely  his  own.  lie  dealt  not  with  the 
fantastic  and  poetical,  but  with  the  matter-of-fact 
every-day  world,  and  the  multifarious  affairs  of 
his  fellow-men,  extricating  them  from  difficulties, 
and  teaching  them  how  to  become  happy.  He 
never  strove  to  dazzle,  astonish,  or  confuse,  but 
went  on  to  convince  and  conquer,  by  great  but 
legitimate  means." 

The  above  extracts  may  be  said  to  embody  the 
popular  estimation  of  Daniel  Webster.  The 
writer  of  this  work  well  remembers  the  man,  as 
he  often  met  Lm  in  the  streets  of  Boston  —  not 
one  of  those  p<  pilar  favorites  whom  you  address 
on  the  slightest  pretext,  sure  of  a  courteous  reply, 
but  a  giant,  the  safe  course  with  whom  was  to  let 
him  alone  —  a  being  not  to  be  trifled  with,  but 
wondered  at.  One  of  his  eulogists  has  well  drawn 
his  peculiarities  of  personal  character.  "  He  was 
a  man  more  known  and  admired  than  understood. 
His  great  qualities  were  conspicuous  from  afar — 
but  that  part  of  his  nature  which  he  shared  with 
other  men,  was  apprehended  by  comparatively 
few.  His  manners  did  not  always  do  him  justice. 
For  many  years  of  his  life,  great  burdens  rested 


DANIEL     WEBSTEK.  207 

upon  him ;  and  at  times  his  cares  and  thoughts 
settled  down  darkly  upon  his  spirit,  and  he  was 
then  a  man  of  awful  presence.  He  required  to 
be  loved,  before  he  could  be  known.  He,  indeed, 
grappled  his  friends  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel ; 
but  he  did  not  always  conciliate  those  who  were 
not  his  friends.  He  had  a  lofty  spirit,  which 
could  not  stoop  or  dissemble.  He  could  neither 
affect  what  he  did  not  feel,  nor  desire  to  conceal 
what  he  did.  His  wishes  clung  with  tenacious 
hold  to  everything  they  grasped ;  and  from  those 
who  stood,  or  seemed  to  stand,  in  his  way,  his 
countenance  was  averted.  Some,  who  were  not 
unwilling  to  become  his  friends,  were  changed  by 
his  manners  into  foes.  He  was  social  in  his 
nature,  but  not  facile.  He  was  seen  to  the  best 
advantage  among  a  few  old  and  tried  friends, 
especially  in  his  old  home.  Then  his  spirits  rose, 
his  countenance  expanded,  and  he  looked  and 
moved  like  a  schoolboy  on  a  holiday." 

On  the  year  of  his  removal  to  Boston,  following 
close  upon  the  death  of  his  mother,  came  the 
death  of  his  first-born  child,  at  that  time  his  only 
daughter.  His  domestic  affections  were  strong, 
and  he  felt  the  affliction  keenly,  remaining  at 
home    and    watching    through    her   illness,  until 


208  LIFE     OF 

death  relieved  the  little  sufferer.  He  was  thus 
detained  from  his  place  in  Washington  for  two 
months  of  the  session  of  1816-17. 

In  1818,  Mr.  Webster's  first  great  constitutional 
case  was  argued.  In  1S1G,  the  legislature  of  New 
Hampshire  remodelled  the  charter  of  Dartmoutli 
College.  The  institution  was  created  previous  to 
the  Revolution,  by  a  royal  grant.  The  legislature 
changed  its  name  to  Dartmouth  University,  en- 
larged the  number  of  trustees,  and  remodelled  the 
institution,  against  the  protest  of  the  old  trustees. 
The  newly-created  University  took  possession  of 
the  corporate  property,  and  assumed  the  direction 
of  the  institution.  The  old  board,  though  nomi- 
nated as  trustees  of  the  University,  declined  to 
act,  and  brought  an  action  to  recover  the  college 
property.  The  case  was  decided  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Hampshire  in  favor  of  the  validity 
of  the  acts  of  the  Legislature,  and  against  the 
plaintiffs;  Messrs.  Mason,  Smith,  and  Webster 
appearing  for  the  plaintiffs,  and  the  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State,  and  Mr.  J.  Bar  tie  tt,  for  the 
defendants.  Thence  the  case  was  carried,  by  writ 
of  error,  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States;  where,  on  the  10th  of  March,  1818,  it 
eame  up  for  argument  before  a  full  bench.     Mr. 


Webster  Expounding  the  Constitution. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  209 

Hopkinson  (afterward  Judge)  and  Mr.  Webster 
appeared  for  the  plaintiffs ;  and  Mr.  J.  Holmes, 
of  Maine,  and  Attorney-General  Wirt,  for  the 
defendants. 

Mr.  Webster,  as  junior  counsel,  opened  the  case, 
taking  the  broad  ground  that  the  acts  in  question 
were  not  only  against  common  law,  common  right, 
and  the  Constitution  of  New  Hampshire,  but 
against  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
which  forbids  the  passage  of  laws  by  individual 
States,  violating  the  obligation  of  contracts.  We 
have  not  space  to  follow  the  legal  argument  by 
which  these  points  were  established,  and  refer 
those  who  wish  it  to  the  report  of  Mr.  Webster's 
speech  in  his  published  works.  The  comprehen- 
sive view  given  by  Mr.  Hilliard  of  Mr.  Webster's 
services  as  a  constitutional  lawyer,  dating  from 
this  case,  is  more  to  our  purpose  than  an  abstract 
of  Mr.  Webster's  argument  would  be. 

"  Previous  to  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  in 
1818,  not  many  important  constitutional  cases  had 
come  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  since  that  time,  the  great  lawyer,  who 
then  broke  upon  them  with  so  astonishing  a  blaze 
of  learning  and  logic,  has  excited  a  communica- 
ting influence  in  shaping  that  system  of  constitu- 

18* 


210  LIFE     OF 

tional  law  —  almost  a  supplementary  constitution 
—  which  has  contributed  so  much  to  our  happi- 
ness and  prosperity.  Great  as  is  our  debt  of 
gratitude  to  such  Judges  as  Marshall  and  Story, 
it  is  hardly  less  great  to  such  a  lawyer  as  Mr. 
Webster.  None  would  have  been  more  ready 
than  these  eminent  magistrates  to  acknowledge 
the  assistance  they  had  derived  from  his  masterly 
acquirements. 

"  In  the  discussion  of  constitutional  questions, 
the  mind  of  this  great  man  found  a  most  conge- 
nial employment.  Here  books,  cases,  and  prece 
dents  are  comparatively  of  little  value.  We  must 
ascend  to  first  principles,  and  be  guarded  by  the 
light  of  pure  reason.  Not  only  is  a  chain  of 
logical  deduction  to  be  fashioned,  but  its  links 
must  first  be  forged.  Geometry  itself  hardly  leads 
the  mind  into  a  region  of  more  abstract  and  essen- 
tial truth.  In  these  calm  heights  of  speculation 
and  analysis,  the  genius  of  Mr.  Webster  moved 
with  natural  and  majestic  sweep.  Breaking  away 
from  precedents  and  details,  and  soaring  above 
the  flight  of  eloquence,  it  saw  the  forms  of  truth 
in  the  colorless  light  and  tranquil  air  of  reason. 
When  we  dream  of  intelligences  higher  than  man, 
we    imagine    their  faculties    exercised    in    serene 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  211 

inquisitions  like  these  —  not  spurred  by  ambition 
— not  kindled  by  passion — roused  by  no  motive  but 
the  love  of  truth,  and  seeking  no  reward  but  the 
possession  of  it. 

"  The  respect  which  has  been  paid  to  the 
decisions  3f  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  is  one  of  the  signs  of  hope  for  the  future, 
which  are  not  to  be  overlooked  in  our  desponding 
moods.  The  visitor  in  Washington  sees  a  few 
grave  men,  in  an  unpretending  room,  surrounded 
by  none  of  the  symbols  of  command.  Some  one 
of  them,  in  a  quiet  voice,  reads  an  opinion,  in 
which  the  conflicting  rights  of  sovereign  States 
are  weighed  and  adjusted;  and  questions,  such  as 
have  generally  led  to  exhausting  wars,  are  settled 
by  the  light  of  reason  and  justice.  This  judg- 
ment goes  forth,  backed  by  no  armed  force,  but 
commanded  by  the  moral  and  intellectual  author- 
ity of  the  tribunal  which  pronounces  it.  It  falls 
upon  the  waves  of  controversy  with  reconciling 
and  subduing  power;  and  haughty  sovereignties, 
as  at  the  voice  of  some  superior  intelligence,  put 
off  the  mood  of  conflict  and  defiance,  and  yield  a 
graceful  obedience  to  the  calm  decrees  of  central 
justice.  There  is  more  cause  for  national  pride 
in   the    deference   paid  to  the  decisions  of  thi? 


212  LIFE     OF 

august  tribunal,  than  in  all  our  material  triumphs ; 
and  so  long  as  our  people  are  thus  loyal  to  reason 
and  submissive  to  law,  it  is  a  weakness  to  despair. 
"  Mr.  Webster's  argument  in  the  Dartmouth 
College  case  forms  an  important  era  in  his 
life.  His  argument  in  that  case  stands  out 
among  his  other  arguments,  and  his  speech  in 
reply  to  Mr.  Hayne  among  his  other  speeches. 
No  better  argument  has  been  spoken  in  the 
English  tongue,  in  the  memory  of  any  living 
man,  nor  is  the  child  that  is  born  to-day  likely  to 
live  to  hear  a  better.  Its  learning  is  ample,  but 
not  ostentatious ;  its  logic  irresistible ;  its  elo- 
quence vigorous  and  lofty.  I  have  often  heard 
my  revered  and  beloved  friend,  Judge  Story,  speak 
with  great  animation  of  the  effect  he  then  pro- 
duced upon  the  Court.  '  For  the  first  hour,'  said 
he,  '  we  listened  to  him  with  perfect  astonish- 
ment ;  for  the  second  hour  with  perfect  delight ; 
for  the  third  hour  with  perfect  conviction.'  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  he  entered  the  Court  on 
that  day  a  comparatively  unknown  name,  and 
left  it  with  no  rival  but  Pinckncy.  All  the  words 
he  spoke  on  that  occasion  have  not  been  recorded. 
When  he  had  exhausted  the  resources  of  learn- 
ing   and    logic,   his    mind    passed    naturally   and 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  213 

simply  into  a  strain  of  feeling  not  common  to  the 
place.  Old  recollections  and  early  associations 
came  over  him,  and  the  vision  of  his  youth  rose 
up.  The  genius  of  the  institution  where  he  was 
nurtured  seemed  standing  by  his  side  in  weeds  of 
mourning,  with  a  countenance  of  sorrow.  With 
suffused  eyes  and  faltering  voice,  he  broke  into  an 
unpremeditated  strain  of  emotion,  so  strong  and 
so  deep,  that  all  who  heard  him  were  borne  along 
with  it.  Heart  answered  to  heart  as  he  spoke ;  and 
when  he  had  ceased,  the  silence  and  tears  of  the 
impassive  bench,  as  well  as  the  excited  audience, 
were  a  tribute  to  the  truth  and  power  of  the  feel- 
ing by  which  he  had  been  inspired." 

Another  writer  describes  a  scene  so  unusual 
from  the  testimony  of  witnesses.  "  The  logic  and 
the  law  were  rendered  irresistible.  But  as  he 
advanced  his  heart  warmed  to  the  subject  and  to 
the  occasion.  Thoughts  and  feelings  that  had 
grown  old  with  his  best  affections  rose  unbidden 
to  his  lips.  He  remembered  that  the  institution 
he  was  defending  was  the  one  where  his  own 
youth  had  been  nurtured ;  and  the  moral  tender- 
ness and  beauty  this  gave  to  the  grandeur  of  his 
thoughts,  the  sort  of  religious  sensibility  it  im 
parted  to  his  argent  appeals  and  demands  for  the 


214  LIFE    OF 

stern  fulfilment  of  what  law  and  justice  required, 
wrought  up  the  whole  audience  to  an  extraordi- 
nary pitch  of  excitement.  Many  betrayed  strong 
agitation  —  many  were  dissolved  in  tears.  Promi- 
nent  among  them  was  that  eminent  lawyer  and 
statesman,  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  who  came  to 
him  when  he  resumed  his  seat,  evincing  emotions 
of  the  highest  gratification.  When  he  ceased  to 
speak,  there  was  a  perceptible  interval  before  any 
one  ventured  to  break  the  silence ;  and  when  that 
vast  crowd  separated,  not  one  person  of  the  whole 
number  doubted  that  the  man  who  had  that  day 
so  moved,  astonished,  and  controlled  them,  had 
vindicated  for  himself  a  place  at  the  side  of  the 
first  jurists  of  the  country.  The  opinion  of  the 
Court  was  given  at  the  term  for  1S19,  reversing 
the  decision  of  the  New  Hampshire  Courts  ;  that 
State  readily  acquiesced,  and  Dartmouth  College 
resumed  its  original  form  and  its  prosperity." 

There  is  an  amusing  anecdote  which  Mr.  Web- 
ster was  accustomed  to  relate  respecting  the 
Dartmouth  College  case.  While  he  was  engaged 
mi  it,  he  told  President  Wheelock  that,  as  the 
original  charter  was  granted,  and  the  endowment 
made  by  Lord  Dartmouth,  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  civilizing  and  instructing  the  Indians,  a 


DANIEL    WEBSTEK.  215 

question  might  arise  on  this  point :  as  no  Indian 
had  been  attached  to  the  school  for  a  long  period, 
it  would  be  well  for  the  President  to  go  into  Can- 
ada, and  fetch  some  of  the  aborigines  within  the 
walls  of  the  College,  so  that  a  jury  could  not  find 
that  the  charter  had  been  abrogated  by  that 
omission.  Accordingly,  the  President  went,  and 
found  three  choice  specimens,  brought  them  to 
the  brink  of  the  river,  and,  after  some  delay,  pro- 
cured a  boat  to  ferry  them  across.  The  young 
Indians,  not  precisely  understanding  the  object  of 
so  much  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  President, 
espied  the  walls  of  the  College  on  the  bank,  which 
excited  their  suspicion  and  their  wonder  whether, 
if  once  inside  those  walls,  it  might  be  possible  to 
make  their  exit.  The  young  Indian  at  the  bow 
of  the  boat  cast  a  significant  glance  on  his  asso- 
ciates, gave  the  war-whoop,  and  quick  as  thought 
they  plunged  into  the  middle  of  the  river,  and 
swam  for  the  shore.  The  President  halloed,  en- 
treated, and  tried  to  explain  all,  but  the  Indians 
kept  straight  on  their  course  to  the  shore,  and 
made  with  all  speed  for  the  woods.  It  was  the  last 
President  Wheelock  ever  saw  or  heard  of  them  — 
so  Mr.  Webster  had  to  go  on  with  the  case,  minus 
the  Indians. 


21G  LIFE     OF 

The  reader  who  desires  to  follow  Mr.  Webstej 
through  his  labors  as  a  great  Constitutional  lawyer, 
"  the  Expounder  of  the  Constitution,"  as  he  has 
well  been  termed,  must  look  to  larger  works  than 
so  brief  a  volume  as  this.  In  nearly  all  the  lead- 
ing cases  before  the  Supreme  Court  since  1818  he 
was  heard  or  consulted.  In  cases  between  indi- 
viduals, and  between  States  ;  in  questions  where 
the  rights  of  citizens  were  affected  by  the  laws  of 
States,  and  in  suits  in  which  the  laws  of  States 
and  of  the  United  States  appeared  to  come  in 
conflict,  he  has  borne  an  important  part  in  defin- 
ing the  precise  limits  of  the  conflicting  powers, 
and  the  weight  of  varying  interests.  His  practice 
before  the  State  Courts  has  also  been  very  exten- 
sive. He  was  appealed  to  wherever  the  interests 
at  stake  would  warrant  the  large  expense  which 
his  talents  commanded.  From  the  close  of  his 
second  term  in  Congress,  in  1817,  until  he  resumed 
his  seat  in  the  National  Legislature,  in  1823,  he 
devoted  himself  assiduously  to  his  profession. 
Clients  crowded  upon  him,  and  his  income  from 
Ms  professional  practice  was  greater  than  any 
lawyer  who  had  preceded  him.  His  reputation 
increased  with  every  year,  and  a  most  brilliant 
prospect   in    every    respect    opened    before    him. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  217 

During  these  six  years  he  was  engaged  very  little 
in  the  public  service.  He  performed  the  merely 
nominal  duty  of  an  elector,  being  one  of  the  col- 
lege which  elected  Mr.  Monroe  to  his  second 
Presidential  term ;  and  he  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Convention  which  revised  the  Constitution  of 
Massachusetts,  in  1821.  In  that  Convention  he 
performed  an  important  part,  and  gave  his  adopted 
State  the  advantage  of  his  close  study  upon  the 
principles  of  government. 

There  is  an  anecdote  connected  with  Mr.  Web- 
ster's practice  in  Boston,  which  should  not  be  lost. 
A  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  from  Nan- 
tucket, applied  to  Mr.  Webster  to  manage  a  suit 
then  pending  in  court  on  that  island.  He  demurred 
to  Mr.  Webster's  charge — one  thousand  dollars  — 
but  at  length  promised  that  sum,  provided  Mr. 
Webster  would  consent  to  atlwnd  ^o  any  other 
little  matters  he  might  present  during  the  session 
of  the  Court.  With  this  understanding  Mr.  Web- 
ster was  present  when  the  case  was  called  up.  It 
was  heard  and  decided  in  his  client's  favor.  An- 
other was  taken  up  —  another,  and  still  another, 
and  all  assigned  to  Mr.  Webster.  Finding  he  was 
doing  all  the  business,  Mr.  Webster  became  impa- 
tient and  demanded  an  explanation.     His  client, 

19 


218  LIFE    OF 

having  now  got  through,  said :  "  I  hired  thee, 
Daniel,  to  attend  to  all  the  business  of  the  Court. 
Thee  has  done  it  handsomely.  Here's  thy  mo- 
ney ! "  It  is  said  that  the  client,  through  the 
wages  of  his  distinguished  journeyman,  recovered 
his  thousand  dollars,  and  made  a  few  hundreds 
over.  We  cannot  better  conclude  our  account  of 
Mr.  Webster's  professional  life,  than  by  adopting 
the  eloquent  language  of  Mr.  Hilliard. 

"  He  was,  from  the  beginning,  more  or  less  occu- 
pied with  public  affairs,  and  he  continued  to  the 
last  to  be  a  practising  lawyer;  but,  as  regards 
these  two  spheres  of  action,  his  life  may  be  divided 
into  two  distinct  portions.  From  his  twenty-third 
to  his  forty-first  }7ear,  the  practice  of  the  law  was 
his  primary  occupation  and  interest,  but  from  the 
latter  period  to  his  death,  it  was  secondary  to  his 
labors  as  a  legislator  and  statesman.  Of  his  emi- 
nence in  the  law  —  meaning  the  law  as  adminis- 
tered in  the  ordinary  tribunals  of  the  country, 
without  reference,  for  the  present,  to  Constitutional 
questions  —  there  is  but  one  opinion  among  com- 
petent judges.  Some  may  have  excelled  him  in 
a  single  faculty  or  accomplishment;  but  in  the 
combination  of  qualities  which  the  law  requires, 
no  man  of  his  time  was,  on  the  whole,  equal  to  him. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  21.9 

He  was  a  safe  counsellor  and  a  powerful  advo- 
cate; thorough  in  the  preparation  of  causes  and 
judicious  in  the  management  of  them ;  quick,  far- 
seeing,  cautious  and  bold.  His  addresses  to  the 
jury  were  simple,  manly,  and  direct;  presenting 
the  strong  points  of  the  case  in  his  strong  way, 
appealing  to  the  reason  and  the  conscience,  and 
not  to  passions  and  prejudices;  and  never  weak- 
ened by  over-statement.  He  laid  his  own  mind 
fairly  along-side  that  of  the  jury,  and  won  their 
confidence  by  his  sincere  way  of  dealing  with 
them.  He  had  the  grace  to  cease  speaking  when 
he  had  come  to  an  end. 

"  His  most  conspicuous  power  was  his  clearness 
of  statement.  He  threw  upon  every  subject  a 
light  like  that  of  the  sun  at  noonday.  His  mind, 
by  an  unerring  instinct,  separated  the  important 
from  the  unimportant  facts  in  a  complicated  case, 
and  so  presented  the  former  that  he  was  really 
making  a  powerful  and  persuasive  argument,  when 
he  seemed  to  be  only  telling  a  plain  story  in  a 
plain  way.  The  transparency  of  the  stream  veiled 
its  depth,  and  its  depth  concealed  its  rapid  flow.  His 
legal  learning  was  accurate  and  perfectly  at  com- 
mand, and  he  had  made  himself  master  of  some 
difficult  branches  of  law.  such  as  special  pleading 


2:20  life   of 

and  the  law  of  real  property ;  but  the  memory  of 
some  of  his  contemporaries  was  more  richly  stored 
with  cases.  From  his  remarkable  powers  of 
generalization,  his  elementary  reading  had  filled 
his  mind  with  principles,  and  he  examined  the 
questions  that  arose  by  the  light  of  these  princi- 
ples, and  then  sought  in  the  books  for  cases  to 
confirm  the  viewrs  which  he  had  reached  by  reflec- 
tion. He  never  resorted  to  stratagems  and 
surprises,  nor  did  he  let  his  zeal  for  his  client  run 
away  with  his  self-respect.  His  judgment  was  so 
clear,  and  his  moral  sense  so  strong,  that  he  never 
could  help  discriminating  between  a  good  cause 
and  a  bad  one ;  nor  betraying  to  a  close  observer 
when  he  was  arguing  against  his  convictions.  His 
manner  wras  admirable,  especially  for  its  repose,  an 
effective  quality  in  an  advocate,  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  strength  which  it  implies.  The  uni- 
form respect  with  which  he  treated  the  bench 
should  not  be  omitted,  in  summing  up  his  merits 
as  a  lawyer. 

"  The  exclusive  practice  of  the  law  is  not  held 
to  be  the  best  preparation  for  public  life.  Not 
only  does  it  invigorate  without  expanding  —  not 
only  does  it  narrow  at  the  same  time  that  it 
sharpens  —  but   the  custom  of  addressing  juries 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  221 

begets  a  habit  of  over-statement,  which  is  a  great 
defect  in  a  public  speaker ;  and  the  mind  that  is 
constantly  occupied  in  looking  at  one  side  of  a 
disputed  question,  is  apt  to  forget  that  it  has  two. 
Great  minds  triumph  over  these  influences,  but  it 
is  because  they  never  fail,  sooner  or  later,  to  over- 
leap the  formal  barriers  of  the  law.  Had  Mr. 
Webster  been  born  in  England  and  educated  to 
the  Bar,  his  powers  could  never  have  been  con- 
fined to  Westminster  Hall.  He  would  have  been 
taken  up  and  borne  into  Parliament  by  an  irresis- 
tible tide  of  public  opinion.  Born  where  he  was, 
it  would  have  been  the  greatest  of  misfortunes  if 
he  had  narrowed  his  mind,  and  given  up  to  his 
clients  the  genius  that  was  meant  for  the  whole 
country  and  all  time.  Admirably  as  he  put  a 
case  to  the  jury,  or  argued  it  to  the  court,  it  was 
impossible  not  to  feel  that  in  many  instances  an 
inferior  person  would  have  done  it  nearly  or  quite 
as  well ;  and  sometimes  the  disproportion  between 
the  man  and  the  work  was  so  great,  that  it 
reminded  one  of  the  task  given  to  Michael 
Angelo,  to  make  a  statue  of  snow. 

"  His  advancing  reputation,  however,  soon  led 
him  into  a  class  of  cases,  the  peculiar  growth  of 
the  institutions   of   his  country,   and   admirablv 

19* 


222  LIFE     OF 

fitted  to  train  a  lawyer  for  public  life,  because, 
though  legal    in    their  form,  they  involve    great 
questions  of  politics  and  government.     The  system 
under  which  we  live  is,  in  many  respects,  without 
a  precedent.   Singularly  complicated  in  its  arrange- 
ments, embracing  a  general  government  of  limited 
and  delegated  powers,  organised  by  an  interfusion 
of  separate  sovereignties,  all  with"  written  consti- 
tutions to  be  interpreted  and  reconciled,  the  im- 
perfection of  human  language  and  the  strength 
of  human  passion  leaving  a  wide  margin  for  war- 
ring opinions,  it  is  obvious  to  any  person  of  political 
experience,  that  many  grave  questions,  both  of 
construction     and    conflicting    jurisdiction,    must 
arise,   requiring  wisdom   and   authority  for  their 
adjustment.     Especially  must  this  be  the  case  in 
a  country  like  ours,  of  such  great  extent,  with 
such  immense  national  resources,  and  inhabited 
by  so  enterprising  and  energetic  a  people.     It  was 
a  fortunate,  may  we  not  say  a  providential  circum- 
stance, that  the  growth  of  the  country  begun  to 
devolve  upon  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  the  consideration  of  this  class  of  questions, 
just  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Webster,  in  his  ripe 
manhood,  was  able  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  his 
extraordinary  powers  of  argument  and  analysis." 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  223 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Pilgrim  Address  at  Plymouth — A  Prophecy — Its  fulfilment — 
Foundation  of  Bunker-Hill  Monument — Completion  of  the  Monu- 
ment—  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson — Other  Eulogies  —  The 
Washington  Address,  in  1832  —  Address  at  the  Capitol  enlarge- 
ment—  The  Trial  of  the  Knapps  for  the  Murder  of  Captain 
Joseph  White  —  Power  of  Conscience. 

Among  the  public  performances  which  have 
given  Mr.  Webster  his  American  reputation,  must 
be  mentioned,  as  first  in  order,  his  addresses  upon 
occasions  of  great  national  interest.  Here  w^ere 
themes  into  which  no  party  or  sectional  feeling 
entered,  and  all  men  of  all  parties  could  sympa- 
thize with  the  orator.  The  first  in  order  of  time 
was  the  oration  at  Plymouth,  on  the  bi-centennial 
anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at 
Plymouth,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1820.  On 
several  subsequent  occasions,  Mr.  Webster  spoke 
upon  the  same  anniversary,  but  his  later  ad- 
dresses were  not  so  carefully  prepared,  and  were 
not  delivered  to  a  miscellaneous  audience,  but  to 


224  LIFE    OF 

the  members  and  guests  of  New  England  Societies, 
m  cities  out  of  New  England.  The  address  de- 
livered at  Plymouth  has  a  great  historical  value, 
and  in  its  analysis  of  the  character  and  motives 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  shows  a  patriotic  appre- 
ciation of  the  subject  worthy  of  one  of  the  most, 
distinguished  sons  of  New  England.  Mr.  Webster's 
early  education,  as  we  have  seen,  prepared  him 
for  admiration  of  the  men  who  founded  the  New 
England  States.  His  description  of  the  condition 
of  the  wanderers,  their  sufferings  on  the  deep,  and 
on  the  bleak  and  inhospitable  shores  of  New 
England,  is  graphic  and  pathetic.  The  tracing 
back  of  the  New  England  character  to  the  causes 
which  formed  it,  shows  a  rare  talent  at  discrimi- 
nation. Thought  ,,is  the  grand  element  of  this 
performance.  It  is  not  mere  rhapsody,  nor  does 
it  deal  in  extravagant  praise.  Calm  and  philo- 
sophical in  its  deductions,  rich  in  facts,  and 
profound  in  wisdom,  it  has  scarce  a  burst  of 
enthusiasm,  except  in  the  predictions  of  the 
future.  The  following  passage  contains  a  re- 
markable prophecy  —  remarkable  when  delivered, 
thirty  years  ago. 

"  Two  thousand  miles  westward  from  the  rock 
where    their  fathers   landed,  may  now  be  found 


DA.NIEL    WEBSTER.  225 

the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims,  cultivating  smiling  fields, 
rearing  towns  and  villages,  and  cherishing,  we 
trust,  the  patrimonial  blessings  of  wise  institutions 
of  liberty  and  religion.  The  world  has  seen 
nothing  like  this.  Regions  large  enough  to  be 
empires,  and  which,  half  a  century  ago,  were 
known  only  as  remote  and  unexplored  wildernesses, 
are  now  teeming  with  population,  and  prosperous 
in  all  the  great  concerns  of  life ;  in  good  govern- 
ments, the  means  of  subsistence,  and  social  happi- 
ness. It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  there  are 
now  more  than  a  million  of  people,  descendants 
of  New  England  ancestry,  living,  free  and  happy, 
in  regions  which,  scarce  sixty  years  ago,  were 
tracts  of  unpenetrated  forest.  Nor  do  rivers,  or 
mountains,  or  seas,  resist  the  progress  of  industry 
and  enterprise.  Ere  long,  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims 
will  be  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  The  imagi- 
nation hardly  keeps  pace  with  the  progress  of 
population,  improvement  and  civilization." 

In  1850,  at  the  festival  of  the  New  England 
Society  of  New  York,  Mr.  Webster,  being  a  guest, 
had  the  gratification  to  refer  to  the  fulfilment  of  a 
prophecy,  which  seemed  at  the  time  of  its  utter- 
ance almost  a  rhapsody.  He  said  :  "  We  have 
hardly  begun,  my  brethren,  to  realize  the  vast  im- 


226  LIFE     OF 

portance  to  human  society,  and  to  the  history  and 
happiness  of  the  world,  of  the  voyage  of  that  little 
vessel,  which  brought  hither  the  love  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  the  reverence  of  the  Bible, 
for  the  instruction  of  the  future  generations  of 
men.  We  have  hardly  begun  to  realize  the 
consequences  of  that  voyage.  Heretofore  the 
extension  of  our  race,  following  our  New  England 
ancestry,  has  crept  along  the  shore.  But  now  it 
has  extended  itself.  It  has  crossed  the  continent. 
It  has  not  only  transcended  the  Alleghanies,  but 
it  has  capped  the  Kocky  Mountains.  It  is  now 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Pacific ;  and  on  the  day, 
or,  if  not  on  the  day,  then  this  day  twelvemonth, 
descendants  of  New  England  will  there  celebrate 
the  landing. 
"  ( A  voice.  '  To-day ;  they  celebrate  it  to-day ! ') 

"  God  bless  them !  Here's  to  the  health  and 
success  of  the  California  Society  of  Pilgrims,  as- 
sembled on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  And  it  shall 
yet  go  hard,  if  the  three  hundred  millions  of  people 
of  China,  provided  they  are  intelligent  enough  to 
understand  any  thing,  shall  not  one  day  hear  and 
know  something  of  the  Rock  of  Plymouth,  too!" 

In  1825,  on  the  17th  of  June,  the  anniversary 
of  the  Battle  of  Bunker-Hill,  the  corner-stone  of 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  227 

the  monument  commemorating  that  great  event 
was  laid.  General  Lafayette  was  at  that  time  the 
guest  of  the  American  people,  and  united  with 
the  Grand-Master  of  the  Freemasons,  and  with 
Mr.  Webster,  the  President  of  the  Monument 
Association,  in  the  ceremony.  There  were  in  the 
procession  two  hundred  veterans  of  the  Revolution, 
forty  of  whom  were  survivors  of  the  battle.  Scarce 
one  of  those  men  remains.  Twenty-five  years  ago, 
a  place  was  assigned  to  such  veterans  in  every 
patriotic  procession  —  now  the  places  which  knew 
them  know  them  no  more  forever.  The  pageant, 
in  the  numbers  who  took  part  in  it,  and  in  the 
enthusiasm  which  animated  all,  has  never  been 
exceeded.  It  had  all  the  elements  of  moral  gran- 
deur, and  forms  an  epoch  in  the  life  of  those  who 
witnessed  it.  Mr.  Webster  was  the  orator,  and  we 
need  not  say  that  he  was  equal,  so  far  as  man 
could  be,  to  such  an  occasion.  Our  space  permits 
extracts  from  but  few  of  Mr.  Webster's  speeches. 
Those  from  which  we  have  chiefly  drawn,  are 
among  the  least  known,  and  valuable  to  our  pur- 
pose, because  they  were  the  work  of  his  youth. 
But  the  Bunker-Hill  orations  are  classics  —  the 
study  of  the  school-boy  and  of  the  ardent  youth 
—  the  fountain  from  which  the  calmer  patriotism 
of  later  years  draws  a  renewal  of  its  inspiration. 


228  LIFE     OF 

On  the  17th  of  June,  1843,  the  completion  of 
the  monument  was  celebrated,  and  the  voice  of 
the  same  orator  was  heard  by  the  assembled  thou- 
sands. The  work  had  been  completed  during  the 
previous  year,  having  been  seventeen  years  in 
building.  The  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechan- 
ics Association  had  finished  the  work  begun  by 
the  original  association,  by  promoting  a  new  sub- 
scription, and  the  ladies  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
came  also  to  the  enterprise,  with  patriotic  zeal. 
In  the  time  which  had  elapsed  since  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone,  the  population  of  Boston  and 
Charlestown  had  doubled,  and  that  of  the  whole 
country  had  largely  increased.  Improved  travel- 
ling facilities  brought  their  thousands.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  one  hundred  thousand  persons  were 
collected,  of  whom  nearly  half  were  within  the 
sound  of  the  speaker's  voice.  In  all  this  multitude 
there  were  but  about  one  hundred  of  the  survivors 
of  the  revolutionary  army.  Sixty-eight  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  day  of  the  battle  in  commemora- 
tion of  which  the  monument  was  built.  An  extract 
from  Mr.  Webster's  oration  happily  illustrates  the 
feeling  of  that  multitude,  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  speaker. 

'  The  Bunker-Hill  Monument  is  finished.    Here 


The  Bunkeu  Hill  Celebration. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  229 

it  stands  Fortunate  in  the  high  natural  eminence 
on  which  it  is  placed,  higher,  infinitely  higher  in 
its  objects  and  purpose,  it  rises  over  the  land  and 
over  the  sea ;  and  visible,  at  their  homes,  to  three 
hundred  thousand  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts, 
it  stands  a  memorial  of  the  last,  and  a  monitor  to 
the  present,  and  all  succeeding  generations.  I 
have  spoken  of  the  loftiness  of  its  purpose.  If  it 
had  been  without  any  other  design  than  the  crea- 
tion of  a  work  of  art,  the  granite  of  which  it  is 
composed  w^ould  have  slept  in  its  native  bed.  It 
has  a  purpose,  and  that  purpose  gives  it  its  charac- 
ter. That  purpose  enrobes  it  with  dignity  and 
moral  grandeur.  That  well-known  purpose  it  is 
which  causes  us  to  look  up  to  it  with  feelings  of 
awe.  It  is  itself  the  orator  of  this  occasion.  It  is 
not  from  my  lips,  it  could  not  be  from  any  human 
lips,  that  that  strain  of  eloquence  is  this  day  to 
flow,  most  competent  to  move  and  to  excite  the 
vast  multitudes  around  me.  That  powerful 
speaker  stands  motionless  before  us  ! " 

Here  Mr.  Webster  paused,  and  pointed  in  silent 
admiration  to  the  lofty  pile.  The  assembled  thou- 
sands burst  into  long  and  loud  applause.  When 
the  echoes  of  that  mighty  shout  died  away,  the 
orator  proceeded  :  "  It  is  a  plain  shaft.     It  bears 

20 


230  LIFE     OF 

no  inscription,  fronting  to  the  rising  mn,  from 
which  the  future  antiquary  shall  wipe  the  dust. 
Nor  does  the  rising  sun  cause  tones  of  music  to 
issue  from  its  summit.  But  at  the  rising  of  the  sun, 
and  the  setting  of  the  sun  ;  in  the  blaze  of  noonday, 
and  beneath  the  milder  effulgence  of  lunar  light; 
it  looks,  it  speaks,  it  acts  to  the  full  comprehension 
of  every  American  mind,  and  the  awakening  of 
glowing  enthusiasm  in  every  American  heart.  Its 
silent  but  awful  utterance,  its  deep  pathos,  as  it 
brings  to  our  contemplation  the  17th  of  June, 
1775,  and  the  consequences  which  have  resulted 
to  us,  to  our  country,  and  to  the  world,  from  the 
events  of  that  day,  and  which  we  know  must 
continue  to  rain  influence  upon  the  destinies  of 
manhood,  till  the  end  of  time ;  the  elevation  with 
which  it  raises  us  high  above  the  ordinary  feelings 
of  life,  surpass  all  that  the  study  of  the  closet,  or 
even  the  usurpation  of  genius,  can  produce.  To- 
day it  speaks  to  us.  Its  future  auditories  will  be 
successive  generations  of  men,  as  they  rise  up 
before  it  and  gather  around  it.  Its  speech  will  be 
of  patriotism  and  courage ;  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty;  of  free  government;  of  the  moral  im- 
provement and  elevation  of  mankind,  and  of 
the   immortal   memory  of  those    who,  with    he- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  231 

roic  devotion,  have  sacrificed  their  lives  for  their 
country." 

If  Mr.  Webster  was  endowed  with  wonderful 
talents,  he  was  favored  also  with  remarkable  op- 
portunities for  their  employment — occasions  which 
gave  full  scope  for  their  exercise,  and  left,  for  him- 
self and  his  friends,  nothing  to  desire.  The  cen- 
tenary celebration  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims ; 
the  half-century  anniversary  of  Bunker-Hill ;  the 
presence  of  Lafayette,  and  the  founding  of  the 
monument ;  these  and  its  completion  were  full  of 
worthy  themes  for  his  oratorical  powers.  Another, 
and  in  some  respects  a  greater  occasion,  occurred 
in  1826,  when  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson, 
both  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  both  ex-Presidents  of  the  United  States,  died 
within  a  few  hours  of  each  other,  upon  the  National 
Anniversary.  On  the  2d  of  i\.ugust  following 
their  death,  Mr.  Webster  delivered,  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  a  discourse  commemorative  of  their  lives 
and  services.  No  similar  performance  has  com- 
manded so  wide  a  circle  of  readers  as  this ;  and, 
in  some  respects,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
celebrated  of  Mr.  Webster's  speeches.  With  the 
names  of  the  great  dead  whose  character  he  eulo- 
gized —  and  not  merely  eulogized,  but  analysed, 


232  LIFE     OF 

and  drew  wisdom  and  instruction  from  their  ex- 
ample—  the  name  of  Webster  would  descend  to 
posterity  had  he  written  nothing  else.  In  such 
performances,  he  was  not  the  mere  orator  appeal- 
ing to  popular  enthusiasm,  but  the  historian  and 
the  philosopher. 

There  are  other  specimens  of  Mr.  Webster's 
addresses  on  obituary  occasions,  less  studied  per- 
haps, but  not  less  eloquent  than  the  Adams  and 
Jefferson  oration.  He  was  the  eulogist  of  his 
early  friends,  Mason  and  Story ;  of  Calhoun  and 
Taylor,  and  others  of  his  friends  and  associates  in 
a  long  public  life.  These  addresses,  in  the  Senate 
and  at  meetings  of  the  bar,  have  a  simplicity  and 
dignity  which  mark  them  as  models.  While  doing 
justice  to  the  deceased,  they  abounded  in  the 
evidences  of  Mr.  Webster's  goodness  of  heart  and 
personal  kindness,  and  they  yet  preserve  the  rare 
merit  of  sincerity.  They  may  be  taken  as  impar- 
tial judgments.  Nothing  is  to  be  deducted  from 
them  for  the  usual  freedom  of  such  occasions. 

In  1832,  Mr.  Webster  presided  in  Washington 
City  at  a  commemoration  of  the  birth-day  of  the 
Father  of  his  country.  His  speech  is  well  worth 
the  study  of  those  who  would  duly  understand 
and  appreciate  the  character  of  Washington,  and 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  233 

the  value  of  the  Union  —  a  subject  upon  which 
Mr.  Webster  never  failed  to  speak  upon  all  proper 
occasions.  As  he  said  of  Washington,  we  may  say 
of  Webster,  "  The  Union  was  the  great  object  of 
his  thoughts.  He  regarded  the  union  of  these 
States,  less  as  one  of  our  blessings,  than  as  the 
great  treasure-house  which  contained  them  all. 
Here,  in  his  judgment,  was  the  great  magazine  of 
all  our  means  of  prosperity ;  here,  as  he  thought, 
and  as  every  true  American  still  thinks,  are  de- 
posited all  our  animating  prospects  —  all  our  solid 
hopes  for  future  greatness." 

The  last  of  Mr.  Webster's  patriotic  or  national 
addi  esses  was  delivered  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1851,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
addition  to  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States.  In 
this,  the  paramount  idea  is  the  value  of  the  Union, 
ind  our  duty,  as  citizens,  in  perpetuating  it.  He 
appeals  in  eloquent  terms  to  those  who  had  spoken 
)f  disunion,  and  defines  his  idea  of  the  cause  of 
such  a  diseased  state  of  public  feeling.  "  For  my 
part,"  he  says,  "  I  confess  that  the  real  evil  ex- 
isting in  the  case,  appears  to  me  to  be  a  certain 
inquietude  or  uneasiness,  growing  out  of  a  high 
degree  of  prosperity  and  consciousness  of  wealth 
and  power,  which  sometimes  lead  men  to  be  ready 

20* 


234  LIFE    OF 

for  changes,  and  to  push  on,  unreasonably,  to  still 
higher  elevation.  If  this  be  the  truth  of  the 
matter,  her  political  doctors  [secession-men]  are 
about  right.  If  the  complaint  sprung  from  over- 
wrought prosperity,  for  that  disease,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  secession  would  prove  a  sovereign 
remedy."  The  orator  did  not  fail,  however,  before 
he  closed,  to  express  in  emphatic  terms  his  faith 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  republic.  The  facts  which 
he  advanced  relative  to  its  progress  and  increase 
were  peculiarly  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and 
the  address  was,  like  all  Mr.  Webster's  speeches  of 
this  nature,  a  performance  of  more  than  temporary 
or  passing  interest. 

Of  his  many  political  and  popular  addresses, 
called  forth  from  time  to  time  by  the  urgency  of 
public  affairs,  we  cannot  find  place  to  speak. 
They  belong  to  a  more  extended  work  than  ours, 
and  can,  indeed,  be  judged  of  only  by  perusal. 
But  there  was  one  criminal  trial  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  in  aid  of  the  public  prosecution,  which 
will  be  remembered,  and  referred  to,  as  long  as  the 
records  of  our  criminal  jurisprudence  are  jjreserved. 
Captain  Joseph  White,  a  highly  respectable  citizen 
of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  was  found  murdered  in 
his  bed,  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  April,  1830. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER  235 

A  strong  sensation  was  excited  throughout  the 
community.  Circumstances  led  to  the  arrest  of 
Robert  Crowninshield,  George  Crowninshield,  Jo- 
seph J.  Knapp,  and  John  F  Knapp.  Eobert 
Crowninshield,  by  whom  the  deed  was  done,  com- 
mitted suicide  in  prison.  George  Crowninshield 
proved  an  alibi,  and  was  discharged.  The  two 
Knapps  were  convicted  as  accessories,  and  exe- 
cuted. The  motive  to  the  murder  was  the  de- 
struction of  a  will,  and  the  securing,  by  the  death 
of  Captain  White,  that  no  other  should  be  made. 
In  case  of  his  death  without  a  will,  the  estate 
would,  it  was  supposed  by  Joseph  J.  Knapp,  be 
divided  between  his  mother-in-law,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  one  of  Mr.  White's  sisters,  and  the 
children  of  a  deceased  brother,  Mrs.  Beckford 
receiving  one-half.  But  the  last  will  was  found, 
the  assassin  having  taken  away  the  wrong  docu- 
ment ;  and  thus  the  horrid  murder,  even  if  the 
criminals  had  remained  undetected,  would  have 
failed  of  its  covetous  purpose. 

Mr.  Webster  investigated  every  circumstance. 
He  shut  himself  up  in  his  room,  and  revolved  and 
re-examined  every  feature  of  the  case.  He  de- 
scribed to  the  jury  with  fearful  minuteness  every 
step  of  the  assassin  in  his  secret  murder,  as  the 


236  LIFE     OF 

whole  had  been  developed  by  circumstantial  evi 
dence,  and  the  confession  of  one  of  the  parties. 
He  painted  the  horror  of  the  murderer  after  the 
deed  was  done — his  conscience  impelling  him  to 
confess,  his  fears  restraining  him.  "  There  is  no 
refuge,"  he  said,  "  from  suicide  but  confession,  and 
suicide  is  confession."  The  hired  assassin's  con- 
nexion with  his  accomplices  was  established,  and 
his  confession  by  suicide  sealed  their  doom.  With- 
out Mr.  Webster's  aid,  justice  would  have  been 
defeated  of  her  due.  The  great  advocate  under- 
took the  case  with  much  unwillingness,  but  hav- 
ing undertaken  the  assistance  of  the  prosecuting 
attorney,  he  brought  all  his  powers  to  bear  upon 
the  case ;  and,  while  he  procured  the  conviction 
of  the  desperate  murderers,  he  gave  to  the  world 
the  most  .'sublime  description  of  "  the  worm  that 
never  dies  "  that  modern  literature  can  furnish. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  237 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Mr.  Webster's  reluctance  to  re-enter  Congress  —  His  Election 
in  1822  and  1824  —  Present  of  an  Annuity  —  Speech  upon  the 
Greek  Question — The  Panama  Mission — Mr.  Adams's  Adminis- 
tration—  Mr.  Webster's  Labors  in  Committee  —  His  Election  as 
Senator  —  Death  of  his  Wife  —  Webster  and  Hayne  —  Death  of 
Ezekiel  Webster  —  Nullification  —  The  Bank  Question — Faneuil 
Hall  Dinner — Visit  to  England  —  Mr.  Webster  as  Secretary  of 
State  —  Again  in  the  Senate — Mexican  War — Death  of  his  Son 
Edward — Again  Secretary — Hulseman — Kossuth. 

We  have  now  reached  that  point  ir  Mr.  Web- 
ster's life  at  which  the  plan  of  our  work  requires 
that  we  should  be  less  minute  in  detail  and  less 
diffuse  in  comment.  Having  traced  him  to  the 
head  of  his  profession  as  a  lawyer,  and  shown  the 
full  reward  which  he  received  for  his  early  appli- 
cation and  industry,  we  may  briefly  notice  his 
career  as  a  legislator  and  a  statesman.  While  this 
portion  of  his  life  is  widely  known  as  a  part  of  the 
history  of  his  whole  country,  its  proper  discussion 
would  require  volumes.  To  larger  works,  to  the 
published  collections   of  Mr.  Webster's   speeches 


238  LIFE     OF 

and  writings,  and  to  the  history  of  the  United 
States  since  1824,  we  must  refer  the  reader  who 
would  perfect  his  knowledge  of  Daniel  Webster's 
public  services.  From  his  election  to  Congress,  in 
1823,  until  the  close  of  his  life,  he  was  almost  un- 
interruptedly engaged  in  the  service  of  his  country 
— his  whole  country  ;  for  he  had,  more  than  any 
other  public  man  since  Washington,  a  comprehen- 
sive attachment  to  the  Union  as  a  whole.  He 
believed  that  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
alone  could  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  the  several 
parts  be  maintained. 

On  some  points  of  public  policy  his  opinions 
unquestionably  were  changed  and  modified  by  cir- 
cumstances. If  they  had  not  been,  he  would  have 
stood  alone  in  the  history  of  men  and  of  parties ; 
for  there  is  no  one  of  whom  the  same  cannot  be 
said.  His  principles  remained  unchanged  —  his 
love  of  country  unabated.  But  in  the  modes  of 
applying  those  principles,  and  vindicating  his  at- 
tachment to  his  native  land  and  her  true  happi- 
ness, the  growing  population,  wealth,  and  power 
of  the  United  States,  the  uprising  of  new  interests 
and  the  decline  of  old,  suggested  and  made  neces- 
sary some  changes  in  matters  of  policy  and  legis- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  23(J 

lation.    These  we.  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  or 
to  particularize. 

When  Mr.  Webster  settled  in  Boston,  it  was 
with  the  view  of  following  his  profession,  and 
reaping  the  harvest  which  his  early  application 
and  industry  had  prepared  for  him.  Success 
almost  unexampled  attended  his  efforts.  He  was 
on  the  sure  path  to  opulence,  when  the  leading 
men  of  Boston,  of  kindred  political  opinions,  ap- 
plied to  him  for  his  consent  to  stand  as  a  candi- 
date to  Congress.  He  was  offered  first  the  nomi- 
nation as  Representative,  and  upon  his  declining 
that,  he  was  tendered  an  election  as  Senator ;  but 
to  both  offers  he  gave  a  courteous  but  decided  re- 
fusal. Meanwhile,  his  high  reputation  was  daily 
increasing,  and  the  anxiety  of  his  friends  that  he 
should  represent  his  adopted  State  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  also  augmented.  In  1822, 
his  reluctance  gave  way  before  repeated  persuasion. 
A  committee  called  upon  him,  and  read  to  him  the 
vote  of  the  convention  by  which  he  had  been  nomi- 
nated, with  the  letter  urging  his  acceptance ;  and, 
informing  him  that  they  had  been  instructed  to 
bring  back  no  answer,  retired ;  leaving  him,  in  a 
manner,  a  compulsory  candidate.  Mr.  Webster's 
reluctance  was  not  assumed,  but  real.    He  was  too 


240  LIFE    OF 

familiar  with  the  examples  of  the  great  statesmen 
who  have  been  impoverished  by  public  service,  to 
ilesire  an  honour  so  expensive,  and  the  result  more 
than  proved  his  anticipations.  He  was  elected  by 
a  thousand  majority,  and  at  the  next  election,  in 
1824,  was  re-elected,  receiving  four  thousand  and 
ninety  out  of  five  thousand  votes ;  a  unanimity 
unparalleled.  Twenty-four  years  afterwards,  when 
the  course  of  events  had  shown  the  personal  loss 
at  which  Mr.  Webster  exchanged  professional  for 
political  life,  the  same  gentlemen  who  had  de- 
manded of  him  the  sacrifice,  in  some  measure 
repaired  it,  by  placing  the  income  of  thirty-seven 
thousand  dollars  at  his  disposal.  The  manner 
in  which  it  was  tendered  and  accepted  was  credit- 
able to  the  sense  of  justice  and  the  delicacy  of  one 
party,  and  the  frankness  and  gratitude  of  the 
other.  It  was  an  honourable  testimony  gracefully 
received  and  acknowledged ;  and  although  made 
the  subject  of  political  reflections  and  pasquinades, 
had  in  it  nothing  which  donors  or  recipient  should 
hesitate  to  acknowledge. 

The  most  celebrated  speeches  of  Mr.  Webster, 
while  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  were  upon 
the  Greek  Revolution  and  the  Panama  Mission.  Mr. 
Webster,  in  accordance  with  the  warm  sympathy 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  241 

for  the  Greeks  expressed  by  President  Monroe, 
moved  the  provision,  by  law,  of  the  sum  necessary 
to  defray  the  expense  of  the  appointment  of  a 
Commissioner  to  Greece.  The  Greeks  were  at  that 
time  struggling  for  their  freedom  and  national  ex- 
istence against  the  tyranny  of  the  Moslem.  The 
measure,  notwithstanding  the  support  of  Webster, 
Clay,  and  other  distinguished  statesmen,  was  not 
at  that  time  carried ;  but  the  discussion  awakened 
new  interest  in  the  history  and  fate  of  Greece ; 
and  Mr.  Webster's  speech  stands  among  his  noblest 
efforts.  On  the  subject  of  the  Panama  Mission, 
Mr.  Webster  defended  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Adams,  who  had  appointed  delegates  to  confer 
with  the  Southern  Republics.  The  appointment 
was  made  in  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Monroe's  declaration, 
that  our  government  would  regard  any  European 
combination  to  effect  political  objects  on  the  Con- 
tinent as  affecting  ourselves,  and  demanding  pre- 
paration to  meet  it.  Mr.  Clay  was  in  the  Cabinet, 
and  on  Mr.  Webster  devolved  the  arduous  duty 
of  defending  an  unpopular  administration  against 
as  zealous  and  strong  an  opposition  as  any  Execu- 
tive of  the  United  States  has  ever  been  com- 
pelled to  act  against.  The  position  of  leader  of 
the  administration-party  in  the  House  unquestion- 

21 


242  LIFE    OF 

ably  developed  his  extraordinary  powers ;  but  pro- 
bably it  imposed  upon  him  a  portion  of  the  popu- 
lar odium,  however  unjust  in  its  intensity,  which 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  labored  under. 
Mr.  Adams  came  into  office  under  the  indignant 
protest  of  a  large  party,  and  it  is  but  latterly  that 
justice  has  been  done  to  his  patriotism  and  his 
motives.  He  had  no  powers  of  conciliation,  and 
seemed  unable  either  to  attack  political  friends,  or 
to  conciliate  opponents. 

Mr.  Webster's  sphere  as  a  debater  was  not  the 
only  mode  in  which  he  rendered  service  to  his 
country  during  his  Congressional  career.  He  was 
a  most  efficient  member  of  various  important  com- 
mittees, and  the  Acts  which  he  digested  and  pre- 
sented for  the  action  of  Congress,  while  the  least 
brilliant,  are  far  from  being  the  least  important 
of  his  legislative  services.  Among  these  may  be 
noticed  the  amended  Act,  "  To  punish  certain 
crimes  against  the  United  States."  To  this  work 
he  brought  his  large  and  varied  experience ;  and 
the  law,  which  passed  substantially  as  he  reported 
it,  forms  a  complete  code  of  the  criminal  law  of 
the  United  States  as  distinct  from  the  several 
States. 

In  1826,  Mr.  Webster  was  a  third  time  elected 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  243 

to  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  before  he 
took  his  seat,  a  vacancy  occurring  in  the  Senato- 
rial delegation,  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  While  on  his  way  to  Washington,  in  1827, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  that  lady  was  taken  ill 
and  died.  This  melancholy  event  delayed  Mr. 
Webster's  arrival  in  Washington  until  January, 
1828.  During  the  session,  Mr.  Webster  made 
strong  and  praiseworthy  exertions  in  behalf  of  the 
survivors  of  the  Revolutionary  army.  This  sub- 
ject, and  also  the  rendition  of  justice  to  the  suf- 
ferers by  the  spoliations  of  France  upon  our  com- 
merce prior  to  1800,  he  frequently  labored  to  press 
upon  the  attention  of  Congress. 

In  1830,  occurred  Mr.  Webster's  great  Senatorial 
triumph.  The  opposition  to  President  Adams  had 
taken  somewhat  the  character  of  political  enmity 
to  New  England.  The  triumphant  popularity  of 
General  Jackson  had  failed  to  include  New  Eng- 
land in  its  influence.  That  portion  of  the  Union 
remained  true  to  its  opposition,  and  the  dominant 
party  were  inclined  to  punish  the  New-Englanders, 
and  to  suspect  their  motives.  A  very  harm- 
less resolution,  introduced  by  Mr.  Foote,  Senator 
from  Connecticut,  furnished  the  main  subject-mat- 


244  LIFE    OP 

ter  for  speeches  through  a  whole  session.  The 
debate  was  discursive,  and  took  a  very  wide  jange. 
Most  of  the  orators  of  the  Senate  spoke  during 
its  continuance.  The  little  matter  which  kindled 
all  this  fire  was  a  resolution,  based  upon  the  fact 
that  the  annual  demand  for  land  then  existing 
was  only  equal  to  one-fiftieth  part,  or  less,  of  the 
land  already  surveyed  and  in  the  market,  and  pro- 
posing, therefore,  the  inquiry  whether  sales  could 
not  be  restricted  to  the  lands  already  offered,  and 
a  portion  of  the  land-office  machinery  be  abolished. 
Western  men,  led  by  Mr.  Benton,  denounced  this 
as  a  blow  aimed  at  the  Western  States,  and  in- 
tended to  check  their  increase;  and  the  South, 
appealed  to  by  the  West,  joined  against  New  Eng- 
land, holding  the  whole  of  that  portion  of  the  Con- 
federacy guilty  of  the  evil  purpose  attributed  to 
Mr.  Foote.  Colonel  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina, 
stood  forth  as  the  principal  champion  in  the  on- 
slaught, and  attacked  New  England  with  great 
bitterness.  Mr.  Webster  and  his  friends  regarded 
the  attack  as  intended  to  reflect  upon  him,  and 
that  gentleman  felt  himself,  therefore,  called  upon 
to  reply.  He  did  so,  defending  New  England,  and 
contending  that  in  every  case  in  which  measures 
had  been  taken  by  the  general  government  favor- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  245 

able  to  the  West,  they  had  been  carried  by  New 
England  votes.  Mr.  Webster  was  followed  by 
Colonel  Benton  in  reply,  and  Colonel  Hayne  suc- 
ceeded the  latter. 

Into  this  speech  Colonel  Hayne  threw  his  whole 
strength.  It  was  a  dashing,  masterly  effort,  and 
displayed  powers  which  exhibited  him  as  an  an- 
tagonist worthy  of  Daniel  Webster.  His  speech, 
commenced  on  Thursday,  was  concluded  on  the 
following  Monday.  Mr.  Webster  rose  to  reply, 
but  gave  way  to  a  motion  to  adjourn,  and  on 
Tuesday,  January  29th,  commenced  and  con- 
cluded his  reply.  Neither  of  the  parties  in  this 
oratorial  combat  disappointed  their  friends  :  both, 
indeed,  exceeded  expectation.  While  Colonel 
Hayne's  speech  was  unanswered,  the  friends  of 
Webster  had  their  fears  that,  great  as  were  his 
acknowledged  talents,  he  was  not  equal  to  this 
peculiar  description  of  encounter.  The  friends 
of  Colonel  Hayne  were  all  elation — the  New-Eng- 
landers  were,  to  say  the  least,  sedate.  But  Daniel 
Webster  proved,  as  ever,  equal  to  any  exigence. 
The  Hall  of  the  Senate  was  crowded  as  it  never 
had  been  before,  and  the  city  of  Washington  was 
filled  with  strangers  brought  in  by  the  rumors  of 
the  great  debate  —  the  attack  of  Hayne,  and  the 

21* 


246  LIFE     OF 

expected  reply  of  Webster.  Gallantly  did  he  de- 
fend New  England ;  ably  did  he  manage  the  argu- 
mentative, and  adroitly  the  personal  and  salient, 
portions  of  his  speech.  In  variety  of  style  —  pa- 
thos, satire,  ponderous  argument,  light  raillery, 
animating  apostrophe  —  Mr.  Webster  never,  on 
any  other  occasion,  exceeded  his  reply  to  Colonel 
Hayne.  The  speech  is  too  well  known  to  require 
analysis  here,  even  if  analysis  could  do  it  justice; 
and  we  make  no  extracts  save  the  following  — 
the  conclusion  and  climax  in  effect : — 

"When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold  for 
the  last  time  the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see 
him  shining  on  the  broken  and  dishonored  frag- 
ments of  a  once-glorious  Union ;  on  States  disse- 
vered, discordant,  belligerent!  on  aland  rent  with 
civil  feud,  or  drenched,  it  may  be,  in  fraternal 
blood!  Let  their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance 
rather  behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the  Republic, 
now  known  and  honored  throughout  the  earth, 
still  high  advanced,  its  arms  and  trophies  stream- 
ing in  their  original  lustre ;  not  a  stripe  erased  or 
polluted,  not  a  single  star  obscured;  bearing  for 
its  motto  no  such  miserable  interrogatory  as 
'What  is  all  this  worth?'  Nor  those  other  words 
of  delusion  and   folly,   l  Liberty  first  and  Union 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  247 

afterwards;'  but  everywhere,  spread  all  over  in 
characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on  its  ample 
folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land, 
and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole  heavens,  that 
other  sentiment,  dearer  to  every  American  heart, 
Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inse- 
parable ! " 

Popular  applause,  and  the  discriminating  praise 
of  the  few,  formal  thanks  by  State  Legislatures, 
and  spontaneous  acknowledgments,  followed  this 
effort  of  Mr.  Webster's.  His  supporters  pro- 
nounced him  victor,  and  even  the  friends  of  Colonel 
Hayne  claimed  only  that  the  combatants  were 
equal.  The  fame  of  Daniel  Webster  stood  higher 
than  ever  with  his  countrymen.  But  from  all  this 
applause  the  man  of  warm  heart  and  intense  domes- 
tic affections  turned  to  say,  "  How  I  zoish  my  bro- 
ther Ezekiel  had  lived  till  after  this  speech,  that  1 
might  lenow  if  he  would  have  been  gratified!"  A 
few  months  before,  while  pleading  a  cause  in  Con 
cord,  New  Hampshire,  his  health  apparently  good, 
his  voice  clear,  full,  and  strong,  and  his  argument 
evincing  the  possession  of  the  highest  faculties, 
Ezekiel  Webster  fell  backward,  and  expired  with- 
out a  groan  or  a  struggle.  Mr.  Webster  always 
alluded  to  this  brother  with  deep  affection  and  the 


218  LIFE     OF 

highest  respect.  In  early  life,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  their  sympathies  and  pursuits  were  identical ; 
and  in  alter  years,  though  in  a  sphere  more  eir- 
cumserihed  than  his  brother,  Ezekiel  commanded 
high  respect  for  his  talents  and  personal  worth  and 
virtue. 

In  the  Webster  and  Hayne  debate,  the  subject 
of  "nullification"  was  a  principal  theme;  Colonel 
Hayne  as  the  advocate  of  the  nullification  theory, 
Mr.  Webster  as  its  opponent.  The  subject  soon 
came  directly  before  the  Senate.  The  people  of 
South  Carolina,  through  a  convention  called  for 
the  purpose,  and  by  a  vote  of  the  Legislature  after- 
wards, pronounced  the  Tariff  Act  unconstitutional, 
null  and  void,  and  the  State  was  put  in  military 
array.  Colonel  Hayne  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate,  and  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State  j 
Mr.  Calhoun  resigned  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  chosen  Senator  in  place  of 
Mr.  Hayne.  President  Jackson,  in  December, 
1832,  issued  his  famous  proclamation  against  nul- 
lification. Governor  Hayne  issued  a  counter-pro- 
clamation. The  friends  of  the  President  brought 
forward  a  bill,  "  making  farther  provision  for  the 
collection  of  the  revenues,"  which  gave  the  Presi- 
dent ample  powers  to  meet  an  exigency  like  that 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  249 

presented  by  the  conduct  of  South  Carol  n&.  Mr, 
Calhoun  made,  against  this  bill,  and  in  support  of 
a  series  of  resolutions  which  he  introduced,  an 
able  speech,  defending  his  view  of  the  rights  of  a 
State  to  annul  unconstitutional  acts  of  Congress. 
Mr.  Webster  replied,  defending  the  national  ad- 
ministration. His  aid  was  personally  solicited  by 
a  member  of  General  Jackson's  Cabinet,  and,  on 
the  day  of  his  answer  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  he  rode 
from  his  lodgings  to  the  Capitol  in  the  President's 
carriage.  Jackson's  private  secretary  had  called 
upon  him  with  a  message,  and  as  the  carriage 
was  at  the  door,  it  conveyed  him  to  the  Senate 
Chamber.  Mr.  Webster  was,  in  this  case,  the 
recognised  leader  of  the  administration  party; 
the  only  man  who  could  successfully  cope  with 
Mr.  Calhoun.  He  gave  his  aid  heartily,  and 
during  the  discussion  of  the  bill,  caused  it  to  be 
amended  in  several  important  particulars.  Mr. 
Webster's  argument  against  nullification  was  one 
of  his  most  important  public  acts,  and  will  always 
be  appealed  to  as  a  standard  commentary  on 
the  Constitution. 

Supporting  the  President  where  right  and  duty 
demanded,  Mr.  Webster  did  not,  therefore,  hesi- 
tate to  speak    as  decidedly,  though  courteously. 


250  LIFE    OF 

against  him  when  they  differed.  In  the  discussion 
of  the  Bank  question,  Mr.  Webster  argued  in 
favor  of  the  re-charter.  The  President,  in  1833, 
removed  the  deposits  of  the  United  States  from 
the  National  Bank,  Mr.  Clay  brought  forward  a 
resolution,  at  the  succeeding  meeting  of  Congress, 
calling  upon  the  President  for  a  copy  of  a  paper  , 
said  to  have  been  read  by  him  at  a  Cabinet  meet- 
ing in  relation  to  the  subject.  The  President  de- 
clined compliance ;  denying  the  authority  of  the 
Senate  to  make  any  such  call  upon  him.  The 
contents  of  the  paper  were,  however,  public,  and 
the  Senate  acted  upon  the  subject  without  any 
official  communication  from  the  President.  Reso- 
lutions of  substantial  censure  were  passed,  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  Clay,  and  against  these  the  President 
sent  to  the  Senate  his  protest.  Against  this,  Mr. 
Webster  made  one  of  his  most  carefully-prepared 
speeches,  and  defended  the  privileges  of  the  Se- 
nate, while  he  conceded  to  the  President  "  honesty 
of  motive  and  integrity  of  purpose." 

In  the  Currency  debates,  which  continued  during 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration,  Mr.  Webster  took 
an  important  and  leading  part.  But  he  clung  with 
less  tenacity  than  some  other  politicians  to  the 
idea  01   the  absolute  necessity  of  a  United  States 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  251 

Bank.  What  would  have  been  his  course  had  he 
remained  in  the  Senate  during  President  Tyler's 
term,  we  can  now  only  conjecture ;  or  how  he 
would  have  proceeded  under  the  repeated  defeats 
of  the  Bank  project  brought  forward  in  Congress 
and  vetoed  by  Mr.  Tyler.  It  is  certain  that  he 
regarded  the  revival  of  the  Bank  controversy  as  a 
measure  of  questionable  necessity  and  expediency ; 
and  in  a  popular  address,  delivered  in  Boston,  in 
1842,  he  said,  "A  Bank  of  the  United  States 
founded  on  a  private  subscription  is  out  of  the 
question.  That  is  an  obsolete  idea.  The  country 
and  the  condition  of  things  have  changed."  Mr. 
Webster  contended  against  disturbance  of  the  cur- 
rency, and  the  modes  of  negotiating  exchanges 
and  managing  the  revenues ;  but  after  the  change 
was  made,  he  did  not  desire  to  contend  for  "  obso- 
lete ideas."  The  experience  of  the  country  now 
shows  that  we  are  better  without  such  an  institu- 
tion. In  like  manner,  Mr.  Webster,  though  an 
advocate  for  the  protection  of  domestic  manufac- 
tures, has  made  that  question  not  paramount  to 
all  others,  but  co-important  with  them.  He  has 
on  all  subjects  recommended  measures  consonant 
with  the  general  weal.  His  mind  was  too  capa- 
cious, his  views  too  catholic,  to  urge  him  to  the 


252  LIFE    OF 

carrying  out  of  a  theory  at  the  expense  of  the 
practical  interests  of  the  country ;  or  to  argue 
that,  because  the  government  has  certain  constitu- 
tional powers,  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  exercise 
and  test  them,  without  regard  to  expediency,  and 
in  defiance  of  the  wishes  of  a  minority. 

The  most  important  part  of  Mr.  Webster's  Con- 
gressional life  was  prior  to  1838;  and  in  that  year 
certain  citizens  of  Boston,  the  thew  and  sinew  of 
that  ancient  city,  tendered  their  Senator  the  com- 
pliment of  a  public  dinner  in  Faneuil  Hall.  There 
were  many  such  compliments  paid  him ;  and  with 
out  desiring  the  eclat  of  such  assemblages,  which 
was  really  nothing  to  Daniel  Webster,  he  could  be 
grateful  for  the  motives  which  prompted  his  friends 
thus  to  honor  him.  No  man  had  less  fondness  for 
parade  than  he ;  and  none  was  more  heartily  re- 
joiced to  escape  from  the  plaudits  and  acclama- 
tions of  the  crowd  to  the  calm  enjoyment  of  the 
society  of  his  friends.  Faneuil  Hall  has  very 
many  times  echoes  with  his  full,  manly  voice ;  and 
when  that  was  hushed  forever,  the  weeping  people 
there  listened  to  the  eulogies  of  those  who  loved 
and  knew  him  best. 

In  the  year  1839,  Mr.  Webster  visited  Europe. 
The  fame  of  his  talents  had  preceded  him ;  and 


Webster  at  Faxeuil  Hall. 


UANIEL     WEBSTER.  253 

the  appearance  and  ability  of  the  man  more  than 
seconded  all  that  had  been  reported  of  him.  No 
official  personage  could  have  received  more  atten- 
tion ;  and  no  American  was  ever  more  gratified  at 
his  reception  abroad.  The  attentions  which  he 
received  were  not  so  much  formal  as  cordial. 
There  was  nothing  of  display,  but  everything 
which  hospitality  could  dictate.  The  landholders 
of  England  welcomed  a  brother  farmer ;  statesmen 
and  lawyers  found  in  him  their  peer,  and  the  Eng- 
lish people  seemed  to  claim  a  pride  and  property 
in  their  transatlantic  cousin ;  familiar  as  them- 
selves with  all  that  is  rich  in  British  literature,  or 
valuable  in  the  history  and  experience  of  the  mo- 
ther country. 

Having,  previously  to  his  voyage,  declined  to 
be  considered  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  Mr.  Webster  returned  to  bear  a 
very  important  part  in  the  canvassing  which  pre- 
ceded the  election  of  General  Harrison.  His  mas:- 
nanimous  character  has  been  more  than  once  exhi- 
bited in  this  manner.  He  who  never  could  be 
persuaded  to  make  popular  capital  for  himself,  had 
never  hesitated  to  sacrifice  himself  for  others.  He 
was  too  conscious  of  his  own  powers  to  offer  them 
at  retail  on  the  hustings  for  the  purchase  of  an 

22 


254  LIFE    OF 

election.  He  was  undoubtedly  satisfied  that  his 
services  deserved  the  reward  of  an  election  to  the 
Presidency ;  but  he  desired  that  others  should 
award  him  his  meed,  and  would  not  stcop  to  beg 
for  it. 

He  did  not  heartily  second  the  nomination  of 
Harrison,  of  Clay,  in  1844,  or  of  Taylor,  in  1848; 
but  to  all  three  he  lent  his  aid  when  they  were 
made ;  having  in  view  the  success  of  the  party 
which  he  believed  could  best  promote  the  prospe- 
rity of  the  country.  What  would  have  been  his 
course  in  the  case  of  General  Scott,  had  his  health 
and  life  been  spared,  it  is  now  impossible  to  tell. 
It  would  be  a  misrepresentation  to  say  that  Mr. 
Webster  was  not  disappointed  in  the  failure  of  his 
friends  to  secure  his  nomination,  or  that  he  ap- 
proved the  selection  of  General  Scott  as  the  can- 
didate of  his  party.  But  we  cannot  go  the  length 
to  believe  that  this  disappointment  preyed  upon 
him  with  any  fatal  effect.  He  felt  it,  without  a 
doubt;  for  he  would  have  been  unjust  to  himself 
had  he  not  been  sensible  that  his  forty  years  of 
public  service  had  conferred  substantial  benefit 
and  world-wide  renown  upon  his  country,  which 
the  gift  of  the  highest  honors  could  not  have  re- 
paid.    He  would  have  honored  the  Presidency  — 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  255 

it  could  Lave  conferred  no  new  honor  upon  him. 
Had  he  lived,  the  zeal  of  his  friends  might  have 
diminished  President  Pierce's  majority ;  or  he 
might,  with  his  ever-elastic  manliness,  have  with- 
drawn his  name  peremptorily,  as  he  had  done 
before.  Now,  it  matters  not;  nor  is  it  worth 
while  to  speculate  upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  Webster  was  called,  by  General  Harrison, 
to  a  seat  in  his  Cabinet.  He  was  tendered  the 
Secretaryship  of  the  Treasury,  but  preferred  the 
Department  of  State.  In  one  short  month,  Gene- 
ral Harrison  was  no  more.  He  died  amid  the 
profound  regrets  of  the  people,  and  the  office  of 
President  was,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  country,  filled  by  the  alternate  provided  by 
the  Constitution.  Mr.  Tyler  proved  unacceptable 
to  the  party  who  had  elected  him.  The  other 
members  of  the  Cabinet  felt  it  their  duty  to  retire  ; 
but  Mr.  Webster,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his 
party,  and  in  spite  of  censure,  and,  from  some 
quarters,  unmerited  obloquy,  chose  to  remain.  He 
had  a  duty  to  the  whole  country  to  fulfil ;  a  sense 
of  honor  to  satisfy,  with  which  a  hasty  retirement 
would  not  have  been  compatible.  With  no  per- 
sonal ends  to  satisfy,  but  at  a  sacrifice  to  himself, 
he  remained  attached  to  an  unpopular  administra- 


256  LIFE     OF 

tion  till  he  conferred  upon  the  Presidency  of  Mr. 
Tyler  the  honor  of  adjusting  the  difficulties  with 
Great  Britain,  which  had  baffled  all  preceding 
administrations.  The  treaty  of  Washington,  ne- 
gotiated by  Ashburton  and  Webster,  gave  him  as 
high  a  rank  in  diplomacy  as  he  had  already 
reached  in  other  departments  of  professional  and 
public  life.  Other  troublesome  questions,  with 
different  powers,  were  also  satisfactorily  disposed 
of;  and  then  Mr.  Webster  retired,  without  ardent 
popular  applause,  but  with  the  high  respect  of  the 
judicious  of  all  parties;  a  respect  which  already 
ripens  into  posthumous  fame. 

A  mere  party  tactician  would  have  fled  the 
White  House  when  Mr.  Tyler's  star  declined,  and 
contended  —  probably  successfully — for  the  next 
nomination.  He  might  have  led  the  Whig  oppo- 
sition to  their  own  impracticable  nominee :  but 
Mr.  Webster  wasrno  tactician.  Had  he  been,  a 
second  opportunity  was  open.  Mr.  Tyler's  heart 
was  set  upon  the  annexation  of  Texas ;  and  this 
measure,  though  very  unpalatable  to  a  portion  of 
the  Confederacy,  has  proved  popular  with  the 
larger  party.  Mr.  Webster  might  have  remained 
in  the  Cabinet  and  promoted  this  object,  if  he 
could  have  sacrificed  his  convictions  to  his  ambi- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  257 

tion ;  and  the  advantage  which  did  not  accrue  to 
President  Tyler  might  have  fallen  to  his  Secre- 
tary. But  he  left  office ;  and,  as  he  left,  warned 
the  country  of  the  impending  event;  but  his 
warnings  were  not  heeded. 

Mr.  Clay  was  nominated ;  and  Mr.  Webster,  as 
he  had  done  before,  lent  his  influence  in  favor  of 
the  nominee  of  the  Whig  party.  Mr.  Polk  was 
elected,  and  through  his  administration  Mr.  Web- 
ster was  again  in  the  Senate — his  last  term.  The 
party  to  which  he  belonged  was  in  the  minority ; 
but,  though  contending  for  principles,  they  did 
nothing  in  a  factious  spirit.  Mr.  Webster  was 
opposed  to  the  Mexican  war,  and  opposed  to  the 
treaty  by  which  it  was  closed ;  opposed,  as  he  de- 
clared, on  the  ground  that  the  new  territory  ac- 
quired would  be  an  embarrassment,  disturb  the 
equilibrium  of  representation,  and  destroy  the  just 
relation  between  the  Senate  and  the  House,  by 
bringing  in  new  States  with  sparse  populations, 
each  with  its  two  Senators,  without  such  a  num- 
ber of  Representatives  as  would  bear  a  due  pro- 
portion to  the  new  members  of  the  other  Houses. 
On  the  subject  of  slavery,  while  he  adhered  to  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution,  which  forbid  inter- 
ference of  the  General  Government  with  slavery 

22* 


258  LIFE     OF 

in  the  original  States,  he  protested  against  its  ex- 
tension :  "  I  have  made  up  my  mind,  for  one,  that 
under  no  circumstances  will  I  consent  to  the  fui  • 
ther  extension  of  the  area  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States,  or  to  the  further  increase  of  slave  repre- 
sentation in  the  House  of  Representatives."  These 
sentiments  Mr.  Webster  maintained,  and  frequently 
repeated,  and  in  accordance  with  these  he  shaped 
his  actions,  while  he  defended  the  "  Compromise 
Measures."  Different  men,  of  different  views,  look 
upon  his  course  according  to  their  own  ideas  of 
his  consistency  or  inconsistency.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  argue  the  question ;  but  we  must  concede 
that  the  man  who  lost  no  occasion  to  repeat  his 
objections  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  to  the  Mex- 
ican war,  and  to  any  increase  of  the  slave  area, 
could  not  be  so  weak  as  to  expect  that  his  advo- 
cacy of  the  "  Compromise  "  would  be  a  successful 
bid  for  the  nomination  as  President.  We  must 
acquit  him  of  any  such  motive;  and,  howevei 
opinions  may  differ  as  to  the  wisdom  or  right  of 
his  course,  his  patriotism,  sincerity,  and  devotion 
to  the  whole  country,  cannot  be  impugned. 

During  this  Senatorial  term,  Mr.  Webster  was 
called  upon  to  speak  the  obituary  of  his  distin- 
guished   friend    and    opponent,  Calhoun,  and  of 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  259 

General  Taylor,  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  son  Edward,  a  major  in  the  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  died  in  Mexico,  in  January,  1848,  and 
his  daughter,  Julia  Webster  Appleton,  in  April  of 
the  same  year.  These  bereavements  greatly  af- 
flicted him,  and,  with  his  increasing  age,  gave  a 
deeper  shade  of  pensive  sternness  to  his  face,  and 
strengthened  the  religious  tone  of  his  character. 

Upon  the  accession  of  Mr.  Fillmore  to  the  Pre- 
sidency, by  the  death  of  General  Taylor,  Mr. 
Webster  was  called  again  to  the  post  of  Secretary 
of  State.  In  this  second  term  of  his  service  in 
that  important  office,  Mr.  Webster  chiefly  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  reply  to  the  Austrian 
Charge,  Chevalier  Hulseman.  In  that  document, 
Mr.  Webster  defined  and  defended  the  American 
policy  towards  Hungary.  Its  manly  tone  makes 
the  American  heart  bound  with  natural  pride,  and 
true  men  every  where  respond  to  its  noble  doc- 
trines. In  his  intercourse  with  Kossuth,  the  Hun- 
garian exile,  Mr.  Webster  showed  that  he  had  not 
forgotten  the  sentiments  which  he  had  uttered 
years  before  upon  the  Greek  question.  Without 
committing  the  government  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  the  aged  statesman  made  his  sympathies 
evident  with  all  the  fire  of  youth. 


260  LIFE    OF 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Elms  Farm  — Marshfield — Close  of  Mr.  Webster's  Life — His  Illness 
and  Death — His  Burial — His  Will  —  Religious  Opinions  —  Con- 
clusion. 

"Elms  Farm"  is  the  name  of  the  place  in 
Franklin,  New  Hampshire,  where  Mr.  Webster 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  youth.  It  is  about 
three  miles  distant  from  his  birthplace,  and,  alto- 
gether, contains  about  nine  hundred  acres.  It 
descended  to  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  from  their  father, 
and  was  retained  by  the  latter  from  filial  affection. 
It  is  almost  exclusively  a  grazing  farm,  and  here 
Mr.  Webster  indulged  his  taste  for  the  rearing  of 
herds  of  the  finest  cattle.  Upon  this  farm  he  had 
a  tenant,  or  yeoman,  whose  name  is  John  Taylor. 
Hither  he  was  wont  annually  to  repair,  to  refresh 
himself  amid  the  scenes  of  his  youth,  and  visit 
the  graves  of  "the  dear  kindred  blood"  whom  he 
loved  so  well.  The  scenery  is  romantic,  and  even 
part  of  it  is  sacred  to  the  early  associations  of  the 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  26i 

subject  of  our  memoir.  The  most  elevated  spot 
upon  it  has  a  touch  of  the  Puritan  character  of 
the  family,  in  the  name  which  it  bears — "  Pisgah's 
Top."  At  this  point  the  view  is  magnificent,  and 
from  this  spot  Mr.  Webster  was  wont,  at  his  annual 
visits,  to  survey  the  scenes  of  his  youth.  The 
last  visit  which  he  paid  to  this  place  was  in  1851. 
While  there,  some  twenty  men  were  engaged  in 
making  hay,  and  the  aged  statesman,  then  in  his 
70th  year,  declared  that  "  he  could  pitch  more  hay 
in  an  hour  than  any  man  in  the  crowd,"  and 
throwing  aside  his  coat,  he  showed  that  the  dex- 
terity of  his  youth  had  not  forsaken  him. 

Agriculture  was  a  passion  with  Daniel  Webster. 
But  the  chief  of  his  science  and  experience  he 
exhibited  on  the  estate  in  Marshfield.  About  the 
year  1826,  Mr.  Webster's  attention  was  first  called 
to  the  vicinity,  on  account  of  its  opportunities  for 
open  air,  exercise,  and  amusement,  of  which  he 
was  always  fond.  Successive  visits  attached  him 
to  the  spot ;  and  he  made  the  first  purchase  of 
land  there  in  1827,  buying  the  house  at  which  he 
had  visited,  with  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  of  land.  By  the  purchase  of  tract  after 
tract,  Mr.  Webster  swelled  his  domain  to  about 
two  thousand  acres;  for  the  possession  of  much 


202  LIFE     OF 

hind  seemed  to  be  a  passion  with  him ;  and  at 
Marsh  field,  land  could,  twenty-five  years  ago,  be 
bought  at  very  low  prices.  Under  his  culture,  the 
quality  of  the  soil  was  so  much  improved  that  its 
products  were  increased  an  hundred-fold.  While 
he  advanced  the  profitable  character  of  his  terri- 
tory, he  added,  by  art,  to  its  natural  features.  By 
his  own  hand,  or  under  his  immediate  direction, 
over  a  hundred  thousand  ornamental  and  forest 
trees  were  planted ;  and  these  were  so  disposed  as 
to  beautify  the  landscape,  and  present,  at  every 
turn,  some  harmonious  or  unexpected  feature.  Of 
fruit-trees,  he  also  planted  thousands  of  the  best 
varieties  which  the  soil  and  climate  would  support. 
The  whole  farm  is  so  intersected  with  roads  and 
avenues,  walks  and  pathways,  that,  without 
interfering  with  its  utility,  the  place  appears  like 
an  extensive  pleasure-ground.  Ride  or  walk  in 
what  direction  you  choose,  and  everywhere  is 
visible  the  evidence  of  care  and  culture.  The 
natural  features  of  Marshfield  are  improved  by  the 
art  of  landscape  gardening,  on  a  grand  scale. 
Even  the  lakes,  of  which  there  are  three  near  the 
house,  Mr.  Webster  managed  to  make  more  beau- 
tiful by  art.  The  larger  one  he  colonised  with 
wild  geese,  by  constructing  in  it  artificial  islands. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  263 

like  the  chosen  haunts  of  the  bird  in  its  freedom 
Every  possible  variety  of  poultry  is  included 
among  the  stock  of  the  place.  As  to  cattle,  the 
raising  of  which  was  his  favorite  agricultural 
amusement,  he  had  hundreds  of  the  choicest  stock ; 
and  even  a  few  South  American  lamas  added 
variety  to  his  assortment. 

Mr.  Webster  was  no  "exclusive"  improver. 
Many  who  have  a  passion  for  such  things,  have  a 
pride,  also,  in  keeping  their  choice  varieties  to 
themselves.  He  had  none  of  this  small  vanity ; 
but  scattered  with  a  liberal  hand  among  his 
neighbors,  the  benefits  of  his  experience,  and  the 
advantages  of  his  improvements.  At  Marshfield, 
his  tenant,  or  superintendent,  was  Mr.  Porter 
Wright;  his  fisherman,  Mr,  Seth  Peterson.  The 
latter  was  no  unimportant  personage;  holding  the 
same  post  of  honor  that  the  huntsman  held  in  the 
olden  time.  Mr.  Webster  was  not  only  admired, 
but  beloved  by  his  neighbors  and  townsmen ;  and 
the  feeling  of  the  void  that  his  loss  created,  was 
well  expressed  by  one  of  them,  who  said,  when  he 
was  laid  in  his  grave,  "  How  lonesome  the  world 
seems !" 

The  main  part  of  Mr.  Webster's  mansion  at 
Marshfield,  was  built  in  1774.     By  his  additions 


2G4  LIFE     OF 

and  the  improvements  which  lie  made  upon  the 
original  building,  it  was  doubled  in  size,  and  ren- 
dered perfect  in  convenience.  The  whole  house  is 
furnished  in  admirable  taste;  but  the  large  Gothic 
library,  filled  with  choice  books,  was  the  chief 
feature.  This  collection  did  not  include  his  law 
library,  which  is  in  Boston;  nor  his  agricultural 
works,  which  were  in  a  separate  building.  The 
library  was  built  and  furnished  after  designs 
drawn  by  his  daughter  Julia;  and  is  in  harmony 
with  her  father's  character,  and  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  erected.  The  house  is  full  of  choice 
objects  of  art,  portraits  and  busts  of  himself  and 
of  his  distinguished  friends,  pnd  his  relatives;  and 
many  of  the  masterpieces  of  ancient  and  modern 
art. 

When  Mr.  Webster  first  came  to  reside  at 
Marsh  field,  it  was  as  a  widower.  To  the  lady 
who  survives  him,  he  was  married  in  1832.  She 
was  the  life  of  his  Marshfield  home ;  and,  with 
his  children,  shared  his  warm  affections.  Except 
Fletcher,  who  survives,  all  his  children  preceded 
him  to  the  grave.  The  six  volumes  of  his  works 
are  dedicated  to  the  children  of  his  brother  Eze- 
kiel,  to  his  sons  Edward  and  Fletcher,  to  his 
daughter  Julia,  to  his  friends,  Isaac  P.  Davis  and 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  2G5 

J.  W.  Paige,  and  to  Caroline  Le  Roy  Webster,  hia 
"  dearly-beloved  wife,"  as  "  a  tribute  of  his  affec- 
tion, and  some  acknowledgment  of  the  deep  inte- 
rest which  she  had  taken"  in  the  productions  of 
his  intellect. 

To  Marshfield,  endeared  to  him  by  every  consi- 
deration which  can  make  an  earthly  possession 
valuable,  Daniel  Webster,  in  1852,  retired  to  die. 
We  cannot  better  describe  the  close  of  his  life, 
than  in  the  eloquent  words  of  Hon.  Rufus  Choate  : 
"  In  the  last  months  of  his  life,  the  whole  affec- 
tion ateness  of  his  nature,  his  consideration  of 
others,  his  gentleness,  his  desire  to  make  them 
happy,  and  to  see  them  happy,  seemed  to  come 
out  in  more  and  more  beautiful  and  habitual  ex- 
pression than  ever  before.  The  long  days'  public 
tasks  were  felt  to  be  done  —  the  cares,  the  uncer- 
tainties, the  mental  conflicts  of  high  pla^e,  were 
ended,  and  he  came  home  to  recover  himself  for 
the  few  years  which  he  might  still  expect  would 
be  his  before  he  should  go  hence  to  be  here  no 
more  :  and  there,  I  am  assured,  and  fully  believe, 
no  unbecoming  regrets  pursued  him ;  no  discon- 
tent, as  for  injustice  suffered,  or  expectations 
unfulfilled;  no  self-reproach  for  anything  done,  or 
anything  omitted,  by  himself;    no  irritation,  no 

23 


266  LIFE    OF 

peevishness  unworthy  of  his  noble  nature;  but 
instead,  love  and  hope  for  his  country,  when  she 
became  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  for  all 
around  him,  the  dearest  and  the  most  indifferent; 
for  all  breathing  things  about  him  the  overflow 
constant  growing  in  gentleness  and  benevolence 
of  the  kindest  heart,  parental,  patriarchal  affec- 
tions, seeming  to  become  more  natural,  warm,  and 
communicative.  Softer  and  yet  brighter  grew  the 
tints  on  the  sky  of  parting  day,  and  the  last  lin- 
gering rays,  more  even  than  the  glories  of  noon, 
announced  how  divine  was  the  source  from  which 
they  proceeded,  how  incapable  to  be  quenched, 
how  certain  to  rise  on  a  morning  which  no  night 
hhould  follow." 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday,  October  24  th,  ]  352, 
Daniel  Webster  passed  away.  He  had  lived  out  the 
appointed  term;  having,  at  the  time  of  his  decease, 
nearly  completed  his  seventy-first  year.  While 
riding,  in  the  spring  preceding  his  death,  he  was 
thrown  from  his  carriage  by  the  breaking  of  a 
bolt,  and  from  this  injury  it  is  supposed  he  never 
fulty  recovered.  The  immediate  cause  of  his 
death  was  a  disease  of  the  liver,  ending  in  a 
hemorrhage  consequent  upon  his  malady.  For 
pome  time  before  his  death,  the  papers  contained 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  267 

contradictory  reports ;  all  indicating,  however,  to 
those  who  remembered  the  age  he  had  reached, 
his  approaching  end.  When  it  was  announced  by 
authority  of  his  family,  that  his  name,  which  had 
been  used  in  the  pending  political  canvass,  must 
be  disconnected  from  that  subject,  the  public  were 
prepared  for  the  melancholy  intelligence  which 
soon  followed. 

When  Mr.  Webster  could  no  longer  ride  or  walk 
about,  he  still  continued  to  exhibit  an  affectionate 
interest  in  his  dependents,  as  well  as  in  his  family. 
Even  the  noble  cattle  which  he  had  reared  he 
caused  to  be  driven  up  to  the  door  of  the  mansion, 
that  he  might  look  at  their  fair  proportions,  and 
gratify  the  passion  which  he  had  always  possessed 
for  agricultural  pursuits.  From  his  window  he 
surveyed  the  ocean,  and  caused  a  light  to  be  hung 
at  the  mast-head  of  his  favorite  yacht,  that  he 
might  observe  in  the  darkness  that  it  was  still 
there.  His  conversation  had  turned  often,  through 
his  life,  upon  religious  themes,  and  in  his  last  days 
they  were  frequently  introduced  by  him.  Yet  he 
remembered  and  attended  to  the  details  of  his 
farm,  and  to  his  family  disbursements,  and  spoke 
understandingly  upon  the  concerns  of  State.  He 
caused  memorials  to  be  prepared  and  presented  to 


268  LIFE    OF 

his  friends,  and  in  very  many  particulars  exhibited 
the  possession  of  a  fall  knowledge  and  interest  in 
the  subjects  which  had  been  the  occupation  of  his 
leisure,  or  of  his  hours  of  labor.  He  caused  the 
pay-roll  of  his  farm  and  household  servants  to  be 
made  up  and  cancelled.  Yet  in  all  this  there  was 
not  so  much  a  clinging  to  earth,  as  another  and 
better  motive — a  thoughtful,  curious,  anxious  train 
of  reflection,  which  was  exhibited  in  his  last 
words. 

On  the  Thursday  preceding  his  death,  he  gave 
directions  to  his  men  upon  the  farm  relative  to 
their  daily  progress,  and  received  his  mail,  direct- 
ing the  answers  to  many  of  the  letters.  His  last 
autograph  letter  was  directed  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  On  this  day,  also,  he  executed 
his  will,  and  completed  various  other  matters  of 
business  which  he  thought  it  necessary  should  be 
attended  to.  In  this  will,  he  devised  the  Marsh- 
field  property  to  his  son,  Fletcher,  to  be  held  by 
trustees,  and  secured  to  his  grandson,  Daniel  Web- 
ster. He  made  affectionate  provision  for  his 
widow,  even  to  the  designation  of  her  tomb  by  his 
side  at  Marshfield ;  the  two  being  exactly  of  the 
same  size  and  form.  Many  of  his  friends  are  re- 
membered kindly  in  his  will,  and  all  persons  men- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  269 

tioned  are  spoken  of  with  respect  and  affection, 
even  to  the  four  colored  servants,  whom  he  had 
purchased  and  manumitted ;  all,  he  declares, 
"  well-deserving,"  and  upon  none  of  them  is  a 
demand  to  be  made  for  any  portion  of  their  pur- 
chase-money. 

On  Tuesday,  he  remained  nearly  all  day  in  a  state 
of  unconsciousness,  or  of  torpor,  occasionally  rally- 
ing. During  this  day,  he  presented  his  physician, 
Dr.  Jeffries,  with  his  watch,  as  a  token  of  his  regard 
for  his  unwearied  attention  to  him  during  his  ill- 
ness. He  said,  "  Doctor,  you  will  feel  the  pulses 
of  many  patients  by  that  watch  ;  you  will  feel  my 
pulse  many  times,  yet,  by  it."  The  Doctor  looked 
sad,  and  made  no  reply.  Mr.  Webster  added, 
"  You  look  gloomy,  Doctor,  but  you  need  not  be 
alarmed ;  I  shall  be  with  you  to-morrow." 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  it  was  distinctly  an- 
nounced to  him  that  his  end  was  near.  He  re- 
ceived the  intimation  without  emotion,  and  caused 
his  wife  and  the  other  female  members  of  his  family 
to  be  called,  to  each  of  whom  he  spoke  words  of 
farewell  and  religious  consolation.  The  male  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  including  his  farmers  and  ser- 
vants, and  the  friends  who  were  in  the  house, 
were  next  summoned.    He  addressed  all  by  name, 

23* 


270  LIFE    OF 

and,  referring  to  his  past  relations  with  them,  took 
an  affectionate  leave  of  all.  He  enjoined  Mr. 
Peter  Harvey,  and  others,  not  to  leave  Marsh  field 
till  he  was  "  a  dead  man."  Then,  having  gone 
through  with  his  duty  to  all  around  him,  his 
thoughts  reverted  to  himself,  and  he  said,  "On 
ihe  24th  of  October,  all  that  is  mortal  of  Daniel 
Webster  will  be  no  more ! "  He  then  prayed  in 
his  natural  full,  clear,  and  strong  voice,  ending 
with  the  petition,  "  Heavenly  Father,  forgive  my 
sins,  and  receive  me  to  thyself  through  Christ 
Jesus." 

The  subject  of  death  had  long  been  in  his 
thoughts,  not  only  as  an  event  for  which  he  must 
prepare,  but  also  as  a  thing  for  examination  and 
analysis.  He  appeared  to  be  desirous  to  note 
every  change,  not  only  in  his  bodily  condition,  but 
in  the  alterations  which  would  take  place  in  his 
sentiments  and  emotions.  For  this  reason,  he 
tested,  to  the  last,  his  capacity  for  business  and 
detail,  in  order  to  observe  how  long  the  power  of 
accustomed  objects  would  continue  to  impress 
him ;  and  undoubtedly  he  discovered,  by  the 
changes  within  himself,  the  fatal  termination, 
before  his  physicians  had  lost  their  hope.  It  was 
a    mental    phenomenon    which   we    hope    to    sec 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  27] 

treated  by  those  who  had  the  best  opportunity  to  ob 
serve  it :  the  great  mind  of  Daniel  Webster,  stand 
ing,  as  it  were,  aside  and  superior,  and  noting 
critically  the  struggle  in  himself  between  life  and 
death.  The  following  incident  illustrates  this . 
While  lying  in  a  half-dreamy  state,  apparently 
unconscious,  except  when  addressed,  of  what  was 
passing  around  him,  the  room  still  and  solemn  as 
the  tomb,  he  suddenly  broke  forth,  not  in  the  low, 
weak  voice  of  an  invalid,  but  in  accents  as  loud, 
clear,  and  thrilling,  as  ever  echoed  through  the 
Senate  Chamber,  "Life!  Life!  Death!  Death! 
hoio  curious  it  is!"  It  pierced  to  the  farthest 
apartment  of  the  house,  startling  those  who  heard 
it,  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  Shrouded  from 
the  outer  world,  that  vast  mind  was  weighing  the 
vaster  themes,  upon  which  its  conclusions  can 
never  in  this  world  be  known. 

A  short  time  before  his  death,  his  head  became 
cold.  He  feared  that  his  consciousness  or  his 
reason  would  leave  him.  He  said,  "Life  till 
death;  I  wish  to  retain  my  senses  till  I  die"  His 
son,  standing  by,  said,  "  Father,  you  have  your 
senses  perfectly.  Your  conversation  is  rational." 
He  then  said,  "  Poetry — Gray."  His  words  were 
few,  from  extreme  exhaustion.     His  son  repeated 


272  LIFE    OF 

two  stanzas  of  Gray's  Elegy.  "  That  is  poetry ; 
all  right,"  said  he.  He  evidently  wished  to  test 
his  own  mental  condition.  Finding  that  the  well- 
known  lines  of  the  poet  revived  the  old  emotions, 
he  was  assured  that  reason  was  still  on  her  throne, 
Hence  his  remark,  "All  rigid  still,  my  son."  He 
spoke  of  the  difficulty  of  dying,  and  Dr.  Jeffries 
repeated  to  him,  "  Though  I  walk  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil, 
for  thou  art  with  me,  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  Mr.  Webster  instantly  rejoined : 
"  The  fact !  the  fact !  That  is  what  I  want !  Thy 
rod !  thy  rod  !  Thy  staff!  thy  staff!"  He  wished 
to  know  whether  he  was  then  actually  passing  the 
dark  valley ;  that,  with  the  full  possession  of  his 
reason,  he  might  note  the  instant  of  his  departure. 
He  sunk  into  unconsciousness  for  a  time;  and 
when  he  revived,  his  surprise,  when  he  found 
himself  still  alive,  was  expressed  in  the  exclama- 
tion, "  I  still  live  !"  They  were  the  last  words 
he  uttered.  An  hour  of  perfect  quiet  succeeded; 
and  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  passed 
so  quietly  away,  that  it  was  difficult  to  fix  the 
precise  moment  of  his  departure. 


In  every  possible  mode,  the  nation  testified  its 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  273 

grief,  and  honored  the  memory  of  the  departed. 
He  was  buried  in  an  unostentatious  manner,  at 
Marshfield,  without  form  or  parade;  the  clergy- 
man of  his  parish,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Alden,  conducting 
the  services,  at  the  request  of  the  deceased.  Eight 
or  ten  thousand  persons  were  present  at  the  obse- 
quies ;  and  of  all  these,  it  could  truly  be  said  that 
they  were  his  "  friends  and  neighbors."  By  such 
alone  had  he  desired  that  his  funeral  should  be 
attended. 

He  still  lives!  Not  only  in  his  legal  and 
political  knowledge  and  services  —  or  in  the 
memory  of  his  private  loves  and  friendships — or 
in  the  various  benefits  in  secular  matters  which 
he  has  conferred  upon  his  country  and  his  race : 
but  he  lives  in  this  declaration  of  his  faith,  drawn 
up  and  signed  by  him  a  few  days  before  his  death : 

"'Lord,  I  believe,  help  thou  mine  unbelief.' — 
Philosophical  argument,  especially  that  drawn 
from  the  vastness  of  the  Universe,  in  comparison 
with  the  insignificance  of  this  globe,  has  sometimes 
shaken  my  reason  for  the  faith  which  is  in  me ; 
but  my  heart  has  always  assured  and  re-assured 
me,  that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  must  be  a 
Divine    Reality.      The    Sermon    on   the    Mount 


274  LIFE     OF 

cannot  be  a  merely  human  production.  This 
belief  enters  into  the  very  depth  of  my  conscience. 
The  whole  history  of  man  proves  it. 

"  Daniel  Webster." 

Daniel  Webster  was  not  a  faultless  man.  We 
do  not  present  him  as  such.  But  we  have  no 
need  to  draw  from  the  past  the  infirmities  of  his 
character.  Humanly  estimated,  they  were  far 
less  than  his  virtues.  The  foundation  of  his  elo- 
quence was  in  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
sublime  language  of  the  Bible ;  and  his  religious 
character  and  impressions  gave  Daniel  Webster  a 
moral  dignity  above  all  mere  intellectual  rank. 
He  could  introduce,  as  in  the  case  of  the  heirs  of 
the  Girard  Estate,  a  religious  argument  into  a 
legal  plea,  and  do  no  violence  to  his  subject  — 
he  had  the  manly  courage,  even  amid  scoffers,  to 
confess  his  faith.  He  could  converse  on  religious 
subjects  without  affectation  or  awkwardness, 
showing  that  the  source  of  his  words  was  in  his 
heart.  He  returned,  at  the  last,  to  the  love  of  his 
youth  ;  and  as  his  day  waned,  renewed  the  early 
vows  with  which  he  took  upon  himself  the  pro- 
fession of  his  faith ;  but  at  no  time  was  he  a 
scoffer,  or  indifferent  to  religious  ordinances.     He 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  275 

died  iii  the  communion  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church.  We  close  our  memoir  of  Daniel 
Webster  with  a  word  of  eulogy  from  his  friend 
J.  Prescott  Hall,  of  New  York  ;  and  we  commend 
it  to  our  young  readers,  as  indicating  one  mode  in 
which  all  may  imitate  Daniel  Webster : 

"  I  have  partaken  of  his  innocent  and  manly 
amusements ;  I  have  walked  with  him  alone^  at 
twilight,  upon  the  shore  of  the  l  far-resounding 
sea ;'  I  have  seen  him  in  the  Forum,  and  in  the 
Senate-chamber — his  gigantic  intellect  towering 
above  all  his  compeers ;  and  under  no  circwnr 
stances,  and  on  no  occasion,  did  I  ever  know  him  to 
forget  his  own  dignity,  or  cease  to  impress,  if  net 
overwhelm,  with  the  sense  of  his  surpassing  great- 
ness. From  his  lips  I  never  heard  an  irreverent,  a 
profane,  or  an  unseemly  expression;  while  his 
playful  wit,  his  deep  philosophy,  his  varied  ac- 
quirements, and  unrivalled  powers  of  conversation, 
are  among  the  richest  treasures  of  my  recollec- 
tion." 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S   BOOKS. 

THE   SPARK  OF  GENIUS; 

OR,  THE  COLLEGE  LIFE  OF  JAMES  TRAFTON. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


"  Written  in  a  very  sparkling  manner.  It  is  a  perfect  pen-pic- 
ture of  college  life.  Through  the  book  you  will  find  each  page 
bubbling  over  with  a  kind  of  fun  and  quaint  philosophy  which 
pleases  and  instructs."  —  Brunswick  (Me.)  Orient. 

"  Mr.  Kellogg's  stories  are  always  full  of  exciting  incidents,  told 
in  a  way  that  boys,  and  often  older  people  too,  find  very  capti- 
vating." —  Worcester  Spy. 


THE   SOPHOMORES   OF  RADCLIFFE; 

OR,  JAMES  TRAFTON  AND  HIS  BOON  FRIENDS. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


*•  It  treats  of  the  second  year  at  college,  with  its  trials  and  temp- 
tations. The  vacation  experience  of  teaching  school,  the  tricks 
and  practical  jokes,  and  many  other  interesting  episodes  in  the  Ufa 
of  a  student,  axe  entertainingly  related."  — Lowell  Vox  Poviu*. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S    BOOKS. 

THE    WHISPERING    PINE; 

OR,  THE  GRADUATES  OF  RADCLIFFE. 

lGino.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


"  Under  the  '  whispering  pines '  of  Bowdoin,  of  which  institu- 
tion Kellogg  is  an  alumnus,  there  are  still  cherished  traditions  of 
many  of  the  incidents  portrayed  in  this  volume.  College  lifj,  with 
its  peculiar  trials,  joys,  perplexities,  fun,  and  sometimes  sober  ex- 
periences, is  set  forth  with  the  earnestness  and  freshness  so  charac- 
teristic of  our  old  friend."  —  Portland  Press. 


THE  TURNING   of  the  TIDE. 

OR,  RADCLIFFE  RICH  AND  HIS  PATIENTS. 

IGino.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

"One  of  the  best  of  Mr.  Kellogg's  many  entertaining  and 
healtlry-toned  stories  for  the  youth  of  our  land.  The  boys  will  be 
glad  to  see  the  picture  of  Mr.  Kellogg  upon  the  title-page.  The 
face  reminded  us  of  Tliad.  Stevens,  though  one  of  '  the  boys '  said 
it  looked  like  Jeff.  Davis.  But  he  wouldn't  like  to  have  Mr. 
Kellogg  hear  the  remark.  The  more  the  boys  read  the  books  of 
Elijah  Kellogg,  the  better  it  will  be  for  them.1'  —  Cincinnati 
Daily  Times. 


ELIJAH    KELLOGG'S    BOOKS. 

m  >  ...  .  — —  .  ■■«». 

WINNING    HIS   SPURS; 

OR,  HENRY  MORTON'S  FIRST  TRIAL. 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

'•Henry  Morton's  first  trial  was  a  trial  in  court,  in  which  he 
successfully  defended  a  widow's  son  who  was  indicted  for  theft. 
Young  Morton  was  fresh  from  college,  ignorant  of  law,  and  en- 
tirely ignorant  of  the  processes  of  courts.  But  he  had  rare  com- 
mon sense,  and  made  his  client's  cause,  of  whose  innocence  he 
Was  assured,  his  own.  The  story  of  his  hunting  up  testimony,  of 
his  skilful  examination  of  witnesses,  and  his  manly  address  to  the 
jury,  are  admirably  told.  Portions  of  it  are  very  dramatic.  It  is 
one  of  Mr.  Kellogg's  Whispering  Pine  series,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  effective  of  his  works."  —  New  Bedford  Daily  Mercury. 


A    STOUT     H  EAR  T; 

OR,  THE  STUDENT  FROM  OVER  THE  SEA. 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 

"The  story  of  a  young  Scotchman  who  came  to  America  to  get 
an  education.  His  adventures  in  a  strange  country,  his  struggles 
with  the  language,  and  his  odd  ways,  are  both  amusing  and  enter- 
taining, and  told  in  the  author's  best  style.  The  descriptions  are 
lively  and  beautiful  and  the  characters  well  drawn."  — News. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S    BOOKS. 

SOWED    BY    THE    WIND; 

OR,  THE  POOR  BOY'S  FORTUNE. 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

"  Ned,  an  English  boy,  the  hero,  in  attempting  to  look  into  x 
bird's-nest,  is  borne  by  the  breaking  of  a  limb  to  the  water,  and  is 
finally  lodged  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  an  old  tree,  uprooted  by  the 
wind.  From  this  place  he  is  rescued  by  a  passing  vessel,  bound 
for  Baltimore,  which  was  -then  '  in  his  Majesty's  province  of  Mary- 
land,' and  the  lesson  taught  by  his  perseverance  and  constant 
effort,  till  at  the  end  he  is  left  with  a  snug  little  home  of  his 
own,  —  and  dearly  prized  for  the  severe  struggles  it  cost  him,  — 
is  very  entertainingly  given."  —  Northampton  Journal. 


BROUGHT  TO  THE   FRONT; 

OR,  THE  YOUNG  DEFENDERS. 

K'.mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

"The  scene  is  laid  among  the  backwoods  of  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  borders  of  a  small  stream,  and  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by 
mountains  and  forest.  Heavy  burdens  are  laid  upon  the  young 
heroes  of  the  story  —  fighting  the  Indians,  aiding  the  toils  and 
sharing  the  perils  of  their  parents,  always  accomplishing  what 
they  undertook,  and  showing  at  all  times  an  unflinching  courage 
and  endurance.  A  story  of  the  woods  and  Indians  never  fails  to 
have  a  strong  cliarm  for  young  readers,  and  this  one,  like  all  of  Mr. 
Kellogg's  stories,  will  be  no  exception  to  the  general  rule."  — 
Hartford  Times. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S   BOOKS. 

mm ij 

WOLF  RUN; 

Or,   THE   BOYS    of  the    WILDERNESS. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


"  In  this  work,  the  Rev.  Elijah  Kellogg,  already  well  known  as 
the  author  of  several  series  of  boys1  books,  has  forcibly  portrayed 
the  trials  and  adventures  of  the  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania. 
Don't  fancy,  boys,  that  because  this  book  is  written  by  a  clergy- 
man, that  it  is  all  Sunday-school  and  goody-goody  talk.  On  th« 
contrary,  there  is  lots  of  hunting  in  it,  and  Indian  fights  that 
will  make  you  feel  for  your  scalp  every  minute,  and  look  under 
the  bed  for  'Injuns.1 " — Forest  and  Stream,  New  York,  June  24,  75. 


FOREST  GLEN; 

Or,   THE    MOHAWK'S    FRIENDSHIP. 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


"  A  story  of  Indian  warfare,  in  which  a  chapter  of  pioneer  his- 
tory is  introduced,  involving  the  early  struggles  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nians  with  the  Indians.  Quakers  and  the  world's  people  treat 
their  assailants  according  to  their  views  of  right,  and  the  story 
brings  out  a  strange  contrast  between  the  fighting  and  the  non- 
fighting  combatants,  as  well  as  some  instances  of  noble  action  on 
the  side  of  the  Indians.  Bear-fights,  and  other  rough  experiences 
of  primitive  times,  add  to  the  excitement  of  the  narrative."  — 
Albany  Timet. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S   BOOKS. 
THE 

MISSION   OF   BLACK   RIFLE, 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated,     §1.25. 


"The  hero,  '  Black  Rifle,1  is  a  noted  Indian  hunter,  who  devoted 
tis  life  to  avenge  the  cruelties  he  suffered  at  the  hands  of  savages 
in  his  youth.  His  miraculous  escapes,  amazing  exploits,  and  won- 
derful success  in  killing  Indians,  led  to  the  belief  that  he  bore  a 
charmed  life,  and  made  him  at  once  the  terror  of  the  red  men  and 
the  hope  and  protection  of  the  white  settlers  in  his  neighborhood. 
The  other  characters  of  the  story  are  strongly  drawn." — Man- 
chester Union. 


BURYING  THE   HATCHET; 

OR,  THE  YOUNG  BRAVE  OF  THE  DELAWARE. 

IGnio.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 


"  The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Pennsylvania  more  than  one 
hundred  years  ago,  when  that  part  of  the  country  was  overrun  by 
Indians  and  wild  beasts.  The  building  of  the  wind-mill,  the  saw- 
mill, the  pottery,  the  brick-kiln,  and  the  ceiled  school-house 
brought  the  primitive  life  of  those  early  settlers  into  a  state  or. 
comfort  we  should  find  it  hard  to  understand,  if  the  graphic  pic- 
ture of  their  life  without  them  had  not  been  given  us.  While  the 
book  is  full  of  adventure,  it  is  not  more  so  than  a  history  of  that 
period  would  give;  and  the  noble  qualities  of  a  simple  piety,  cour- 
age, perseverance,  and  love  are  well  depicted."  —  Christian  Union. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S  BOOKS. 


THE 

CHILD  of  the  ISLAND  CLEN 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 


"  Kellogg  writes  with  care,  and  knows  just  what  he  is  writing 
about.  He  never  mistakes  the  'poop  deck \ for  the  'spanker 
boom,1  n«r  does  he  order  his  sailors  to  lower  the  hatch  over  the 
stern,  or  to  coil  the  keelson  in  the  forward  cabin.  Young  readers 
will  be  glad  to  find  in  it  a  ship  and  its  midnight  lamp,  and  as  a 
matter  of  course,  the  fine  captain  and  his  jolly  crew,  who  always 
accompany  every  vessel  setting  sail  in  literature."  —  Church  and 
Bepublic. 


THE  CRUISE  of  the  CASCO. 


16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    $1.25. 


"  Like  its  predecessors,  it  is  a  capital  story,  capitally  told,  and 
the  boys  -will  find  new  pleasure  in  following  the  varying  fortunes 
and  exciting  adventures  of  their  old  friends  in  their  life  upon  the 
ocean.  There  is  a  thrilling  interest  in  the  story,  and  the  attack, 
repulse,  and  capture  of  the  pirates,  the  unexpected  recognition  of 
old  acquaintances,  and  the  extraordinary  good  fortunes  of  the 
Cascoites,  are  told  in  the  best  possible  manner."  —  Lawrence  Amer. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S  BOOKS. 


JOHN   CODSOE'S   LECACY. 


IOrao.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 


" '  John  Godsoe's  Legacy '  is  an  only  child  sent  from  the  West 
Indies  by  a  repentant  father,  to  be  educated  in  the  New  England 
home  from  which  he  had  become  an  exile.  Willie  Godsoe  is  a 
manly  little  fellow^and  makes  everybody  love  him  for  his  nobility 
of  soul  and  affectionate  disposition.  The  progress  of  his  education 
is  agreeably  sketched,  and  the  story  is  interwoven  with  instructive 
descriptions  of  West  India  life,  and  many  pleasing  incidents  in  the 
domestic  experience  of  Pleasant  Cove."  —  Boston  Transcript. 


THE     FISHER    BOYS 

OF    PLEASANT    COVE. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1-25. 


•'The  history  of  an  honest,  determined,  and  generous  boy,  who 
was  trained  in  a  hard  school,  and  obliged  to  borrow  an  axe  to  earn 
his  first  money,  but  whom  fortune  favored  at  last,  and  who  in 
winning  his  way  encounters  many  adventures,  and  wanders  over 
the  land  and  sea.  The  story  is  full  of  mirth  and  excitement." 
—  Hartford  CouraiU. 


ELIJAH  KELLOGG'S  BOOKS. 

ARTHUR     BROWN, 

THE    YOUNG    CAPTAIN. 

lGmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

"  This  narrative  illustrates  the  virtue  of  gratitude,  by  represent- 
ing the  hero,  Arthur  Brown,  lashed  to  a  raft,  perishing  with  cold 
and  hunger,  when  he  is  rescued  by  Capt.  Rhines  of  Ehn  Island, 
who  had  been  instructed  when  a  boy  and  afterwards  started  in 
business  by  Arthur's  father.  The  captain  receives  him  with  open 
arms,  freely  bestowing  both  time  and  money  upon  Arthur,  and 
thus  repays  an  old  debt.  The  book  is  full  of  exciting  adven- 
tures."—  Indianapolis  News. 


THE  YOUNG   DELIVERERS 

OF    PLEASANT    COVE. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 

"  Receives  its  title  from  the  fact  that  its  most  prominent  char- 
acters, returning  from  a  voyage  when  they  had  run  the  blockade 
under  Lord  Nelson,  and  passed  through  a  variety  of  incidents,  and 
hearing  the  fate  of  a  colored  cook,  a  shipmate  of  former  years, 
who  had  suddenly  and  mysteriously  disappeared  one  night,  set  out 
for  Martinique,  where  they  found  the  man  and  delivered  him  from 
slavery.    The  story  is  full  of  incident,  well  told."  —  Baptist  Union. 


ELIJAH    KELLOGG'S    BOOKS. 

THE  YOUNG    SHIPBUILDERS 

OF    ELM    ISLAND. 

16mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 


"  The  young  heroes  of  the  story  start  out  to  learn  a  trade,  try 
the  blacksmith's  occupation,  become  enamored  of  boat-building, 
and  make  the  attempt  to  construct  one.  The  author  describes 
their  successes  and  mishaps.  Boys  cannot  fail  to  be  charmed  with 
the  book,  so  unique  is  it  in  its  sea-side  adventures,  pleasant  in  its 
incidents,  and  interesting  in  its  information."  — Lynn  Reporter. 


THE   ARK    OF    ELM    ISLAND, 


lOmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     $1.25. 


"  Gives  the  adventures  of  the  singular  craft  built  by  '  Lion 
Ben'  to  get  his  lumber  directly  to  a  market;  and  not  a  boy  in  the 
land  but  will  follow  with  eager  and  delighted  interest  the  voyage 
of  old  Captain  Rhines,  his  Yankee  ingenuity  and  well-merited 
success  —  how  he  weathered  the  storms  of  the  Gulf,  sold  his  cargo 
for  a  handsome  profit,  and  came  back  with  a  mint  of  bright  Span- 
ish dollars  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  dwellers  on  Elm  Island." — 
Lawrence  American. 


■  >--■ 


,; 


.  ,;.  "■       ■  ■      - 


